Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

शबर उवाच । धर्मार्थकाममोक्षाणां देहः परमसाधनम् । कथं त्यजसि तं देहं सुखार्थं नवयौवनम्

Transliteration

śabara uvāca | dharmārthakāmamokṣāṇāṃ dehaḥ paramasādhanam | kathaṃ tyajasi taṃ dehaṃ sukhārthaṃ navayauvanam

Translation

Shabara nói: Thân xác là phương tiện tối thượng cho Đạo pháp, Tài sản, Dục vọng và Giải thoát. Sao nàng lại bỏ thân xác trẻ trung này chỉ vì sự thuận tiện?

Word by Word

• śabaraḥ: Śabara
• śabaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śabara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्

• dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣāṇām: of dharma, wealth, desire, and liberation
• dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣāṇām: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक) + kāma (प्रातिपदिक) + mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्व (समाहार/इतरेतर), ‘of dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa’

• dehaḥ: body
• dehaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• parama-sādhanam: the supreme means/instrument
• parama-sādhanam: Pradhāna-predicative (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक) + sādhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (परमं साधनम्)

• katham: how
• katham: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नाव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• tyajasi: you abandon
• tyajasi: Kriyā (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tyaj (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्

• tam: that
• tam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• deham: body
• deham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• sukha-artham: for happiness
• sukha-artham: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sukha (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (for the sake of happiness)

• nava-yauvanam: fresh youth
• nava-yauvanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nava (प्रातिपदिक) + yauvana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (नवं यौवनम्)

Speaker

Śabara

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A concerned Śabara elder addresses the woman devotee near a hut and ritual fire, gesturing toward her youthful form as he argues for preserving the body for dharma and liberation.

Characters & Entities

• Śabara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion must be aligned with dharma: the human body is a sacred means for spiritual practice and should not be discarded impulsively.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is mentioned; the verse teaches dharmic discernment within a devotional story.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; it frames the body as essential for fulfilling puruṣārthas and sustaining worship.