Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

संसारे वर्तमानेस्मिञ्जंतुः कर्मानुबन्धनात् । दुर्विभाव्यां गतिं याति सुखदुःखमयीं मुहुः

Transliteration

saṃsāre vartamānesmiñjaṃtuḥ karmānubandhanāt | durvibhāvyāṃ gatiṃ yāti sukhaduḥkhamayīṃ muhuḥ

Translation

เมื่อเวียนอยู่ในสังสารวัฏนี้ สัตว์โลกผู้ถูกผูกด้วยสายใยแห่งกรรมของตน ย่อมเข้าถึงคติอันยากหยั่งรู้ครั้งแล้วครั้งเล่า อันประกอบด้วยสุขและทุกข์สลับกันไป

Word by Word

• संसारे: in the world / in saṃsāra
• संसारे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संसार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण (locative of place/state)

• वर्तमाने: existing / being present
• वर्तमाने: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर्तमान (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √वृत् (धातु) + शानच्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; वर्तमान-कृदन्त (present participle), विशेषण

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• जन्तुः: the living being
• जन्तुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्तु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तृपद

• कर्मानुबन्धनात्: from/owing to the bondage of karma
• कर्मानुबन्धनात्: Apadana (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्म + अनुबन्धन (प्रातिपदिक; √बन्ध् (धातु) + ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; हेतौ अपादान (ablative of cause)

• दुर्विभाव्यां: hard to comprehend
• दुर्विभाव्यां: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर् + विभाव्य (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √भू (धातु) caus./denom? here √भू/√भाव् sense ‘to conceive’ + यत्/ण्यत्; as gerundive)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (gerundive: ‘hard to be understood’)

• गतिम्: a course/destiny
• गतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्मपद

• याति: goes/attains
• याति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √या (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• सुखदुःखमयीम्: consisting of pleasure and pain
• सुखदुःखमयीम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुख + दुःख + मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (गति-विशेषण)

• मुहुः: again and again
• मुहुः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मुहुस् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

Speaker

Unknown (context not provided; likely a Purāṇic narrator within Brahmottarakhaṇḍa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lone traveler-jīva moves through a wheel-like landscape of alternating bright and dark paths, symbolizing pleasure and pain; unseen threads (karma) bind the ankles, pulling the being into changing realms.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Karmic momentum binds beings to repeated experiences of pleasure and pain; clarity arises from recognizing saṃsāra’s unstable nature.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it presents a general dharmic teaching about karma and transmigration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the focus is philosophical—understanding karma’s binding force.