Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

शिशुरुवाच । संस्काराः शतशो जाता मम जन्मनिजन्मनि । भवार्णवे परिक्षिप्तो यैरहं बन्धनात्मकैः

Transliteration

śiśuruvāca | saṃskārāḥ śataśo jātā mama janmanijanmani | bhavārṇave parikṣipto yairahaṃ bandhanātmakaiḥ

Translation

เด็กน้อยกล่าวว่า “สังสการนับร้อยได้เกิดแก่ข้าพเจ้าแล้ว ในชาติแล้วชาติเล่า ด้วยแรงกรรมอันเป็นเครื่องผูกมัดเหล่านั้น ข้าพเจ้าถูกเหวี่ยงลงสู่มหาสมุทรแห่งภวะ”

Word by Word

• śiśuḥ: the child
• śiśuḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiśu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• saṃskārāḥ: impressions/rites
• saṃskārāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃskāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• śataśaḥ: by the hundreds
• śataśaḥ: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śataśas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘by hundreds, in hundreds’

• jātāḥ: have arisen
• jātāḥ: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: कृतान्त (क्त, past participle): पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘born/arisen’

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• janmani: in (a) birth
• janmani: Adhikarana (Location/time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• janmani: in (each) birth
• janmani: Adhikarana (Iterative time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (पुनरुक्ति: ‘birth after birth’)

• bhava-arṇave: in the ocean of worldly existence
• bhava-arṇave: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhava (प्रातिपदिक) + arṇava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी: ‘ocean of existence’); पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• parikṣiptaḥ: (I am) cast
• parikṣiptaḥ: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√kṣip (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: कृतान्त (क्त, past participle): पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘thrown/cast around, hurled’

• yaiḥ: by which (by those)
• yaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• bandhana-ātmakaiḥ: bondage-forming
• bandhana-ātmakaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bandhana (प्रातिपदिक) + ātmaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कर्मधारय: ‘of the nature of bondage’); पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying yaiḥ/saṃskāraiḥ)

Speaker

Śiśu (Śuka as the child)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhavārṇava (metaphoric)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijās

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A child-sage speaks with startling gravity: behind him, an imagined vast ocean symbolizes saṃsāra; chains made of subtle ‘saṃskāras’ pull beings under waves, while he stands detached, eyes steady.

Characters & Entities

• Śuka (as child)
• Saṃsāra (bhava)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Bondage is perpetuated by accumulated saṃskāras across births; liberation begins with recognizing their binding nature.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific site is mentioned; the verse is philosophical dialogue embedded in a tīrtha-māhātmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse critiques bondage-causing conditioning rather than prescribing a rite.