Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

अतोऽस्मिन्फेनसदृशे देहे पञ्चत्वमागते । शोकस्यानवकाशत्वान्न शोचंति विपश्चितः

Transliteration

ato'sminphenasadṛśe dehe pañcatvamāgate | śokasyānavakāśatvānna śocaṃti vipaścitaḥ

Translation

پس جب یہ جھاگ سا بدن اپنے انجام کو پہنچ کر پانچ عناصر میں لوٹ جاتا ہے، تو دانا لوگ غم نہیں کرتے؛ کہ غم کے لیے کوئی بجا جگہ نہیں۔

Word by Word

• ataḥ: therefore
• ataḥ: Hetu (Cause marker/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb (हेतौ/तस्मात्-अर्थे)

• asmin: in this
• asmin: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Masculine/Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• phena-sadṛśe: foam-like
• phena-sadṛśe: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: phena (प्रातिपदिक) + sadṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; विशेषणम्; समासः—तत्पुरुष (‘phena-sadṛśa’ = foam-like)

• dehe: in the body
• dehe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• pañcatvam: the state of being fivefold (dissolution into five elements)
• pañcatvam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pañcatva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; भाववाचक-तद्धितान्त (त्व)

• āgate: when (it has) reached/attained
• āgate: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-√gam (धातु) + āgata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; Masculine/Neuter; ‘having come/attained’ (dehe ... āgate)

• śokasya: of grief
• śokasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śoka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• anavakāśatvāt: because there is no scope (for it)
• anavakāśatvāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: an-avakāśa-tva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular; समासः—तत्पुरुष (an-avakāśa = ‘no room/opportunity’ + tva = abstract noun)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; negation particle (निषेध)

• śocanti: grieve
• śocanti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śuc (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), Parasmaipada, 3rd person, Plural

• vipaścitaḥ: the wise
• vipaścitaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipaścit (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (form used for plural in some usages; sense: ‘the wise’)

Speaker

Ṛṣabha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A wise elder consoles mourners beside a funeral pyre or riverbank, pointing to the elements—earth, water, fire, air, space—symbolically reclaiming the body, while the mourner’s tears subside.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛṣabha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Understanding the body’s elemental dissolution removes the basis for sorrow; wisdom replaces grief.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None is specified in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; the emphasis is on philosophical clarity (jñāna).