Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

प्राणापानसमानाश्च उदानो व्यान एव च । पंच भेदाः स्मृता वायोः कर्मार्ण्येषां वदंति च

Transliteration

prāṇāpānasamānāśca udāno vyāna eva ca | paṃca bhedāḥ smṛtā vāyoḥ karmārṇyeṣāṃ vadaṃti ca

Translation

ప్రాణ, అపాన, సమాన, ఉదాన, వ్యాన—ఇవి వాయువు యొక్క ఐదు భేదాలుగా స్మరించబడినవి; వీటి విధులు కూడా చెప్పబడతాయి.

Word by Word

• prāṇa-apāna-samānāḥ: Prāṇa, Apāna, and Samāna (vital winds)
• prāṇa-apāna-samānāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + apāna (प्रातिपदिक) + samāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• udānaḥ: Udāna
• udānaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: udāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vyānaḥ: Vyāna
• vyānaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• paṃca: five
• paṃca: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paṃca (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक, (bhedāḥ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्) पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• bhedāḥ: divisions/types
• bhedāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• smṛtāḥ: are remembered/are said
• smṛtāḥ: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (स्मृ धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; अर्थः ‘स्मृताः/कथिताः’

• vāyoḥ: of vāyu (wind)
• vāyoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• karma-ārṇi: in (their) functions/activities
• karma-ārṇi: Adhikarana (Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karma (प्रातिपदिक) + ārṇi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (कर्मणि/कर्म-सम्बन्धि), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन (पाठभेदे ‘कर्माणि’ सम्भवम्)

• eṣām: of these
• eṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (इदम् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, बहुवचन (genitive plural pronoun)

• vadanti: they say
• vadanti: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vad (वद् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced for Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pañca-vāyu-kṣetra (inner)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvija/ṛṣi audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A fivefold mandala around a seated yogin: five labeled winds as subtle deities—Prāṇa at chest/throat, Apāna at pelvis, Samāna at navel, Udāna rising to head, Vyāna pervading limbs—connected by luminous currents.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Life is sustained by ordered inner forces; knowing their divisions supports yogic discipline and dharmic self-mastery.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it presents yogic-physiological teaching within the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed here; it is a doctrinal classification of the prāṇa-vāyus.