Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

सोऽप्यन्यदिच्छते चेच्च कोऽन्यस्तस्मादचेतनः । शोकस्थानसहस्राणि हर्षस्थानशतानि च

Transliteration

so'pyanyadicchate cecca ko'nyastasmādacetanaḥ | śokasthānasahasrāṇi harṣasthānaśatāni ca

Translation

แม้บุคคลเช่นนั้นยังใคร่ปรารถนาสิ่งอื่นอีก ใครเล่าจะไร้สติยิ่งกว่าเขา? ที่ตั้งแห่งโศกมีนับพัน แต่ที่ตั้งแห่งปีติมีเพียงนับร้อย

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (he)

• अपि: also, even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपातः (particle: also/even)

• अन्यत्: something else
• अन्यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; ‘अन्यत्’ = ‘अन्यं वस्तु’

• इच्छते: desires
• इच्छते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष्/इच्छ् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• चेत्: if
• चेत्: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चेत् (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्ययम् (conditional particle: if)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपातः (and)

• कः: who?
• कः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम (who?)

• अन्यः: another
• अन्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• तस्मात्: than him / from that
• तस्मात्: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; अपादानार्थः (from that)

• अचेतनः: unconscious, insentient
• अचेतनः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-चेतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying implied ‘जनः’)

• शोकस्थानसहस्राणि: thousands of occasions for sorrow
• शोकस्थानसहस्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शोक-स्थान-सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक; घटकाः: शोक + स्थान + सहस्र)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; षष्ठी/तत्पुरुषसमासः (शोकस्य स्थानानि = places/causes of sorrow) + सहस्र (thousands)

• हर्षस्थानशतानि: hundreds of occasions for joy
• हर्षस्थानशतानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हर्ष-स्थान-शत (प्रातिपदिक; घटकाः: हर्ष + स्थान + शत)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (हर्षस्य स्थानानि) + शत (hundreds)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपातः (and)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) narrating within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa (deductive attribution)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A thoughtful figure stands at a crossroads: one path crowded with scenes of loss (funeral pyre, illness, separation), the other with fewer scenes of joy (festival, reunion), illustrating ‘thousands of sorrows, hundreds of joys’.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Insatiable desire is irrational because saṃsāra produces many more openings for grief than for happiness; contentment protects the mind.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None is specified; the teaching is a general reflection on worldly life.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; the implied discipline is desire-restraint and cultivation of vairāgya.