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

بچے نے کہا: “میرے لیے جنم در جنم سینکڑوں سنسکار پیدا ہو چکے ہیں۔ انہی بندھن بنانے والی قوتوں نے مجھے بھَو ساگر، یعنی دنیاوی بننے کے سمندر میں پھینک دیا ہے۔”

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.