Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 63

Devanagari script

तदिदं चान्यमर्त्यानां शास्त्रदृष्टमहो स्त्रियः । यमलोके मया दृष्टं मुह्ये प्रत्यक्षतः कथम्

Transliteration

tadidaṃ cānyamartyānāṃ śāstradṛṣṭamaho striyaḥ | yamaloke mayā dṛṣṭaṃ muhye pratyakṣataḥ katham

Translation

此事诚然，别的凡人唯从圣典而知——诸位夫人啊！然我已在阎摩之界亲见；既然如今亲现于前，我又怎会迷惘？

Word by Word

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — Pronoun (that/this); here with idam: ‘that very’

• idam: this
• idam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — Pronoun (this)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (and)

• anya-martyānām: of other mortals
• anya-martyānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक) + martya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास; पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन — Genitive plural (of other mortals)

• śāstradṛṣṭam: scripturally seen/known
• śāstradṛṣṭam: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śāstra (प्रातिपदिक) + dṛṣṭa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — ‘seen/known from scripture’; विशेषण (of tat/idam)

• aho: alas!/oh!
• aho: Sambandha (Exclamation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: aho (अव्यय)
• Form: विस्मयार्थक-अव्यय (exclamation: alas!/oh!)

• striyaḥ: women
• striyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Nominative plural (women)

• yamaloke: in Yama’s world
• yamaloke: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yama (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास; पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Locative singular (in Yama’s world)

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया, एकवचन — Instrumental singular (by me)

• dṛṣṭam: seen
• dṛṣṭam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (भूतकृदन्त/Past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — seen

• muhye: I am confused
• muhye: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √muh (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद — 1st person singular present (I am bewildered)

• pratyakṣataḥ: directly
• pratyakṣataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pratyakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (तसिल्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: तसिलन्त-अव्यय (adverb: directly/with one’s own eyes)

• katham: how?
• katham: Sambandha (Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (how?)

Speaker

Unclear (narrative voice within the dialogue); likely a male narrator/observer speaking to women (striyaḥ) within Sūta’s recitation

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Yamaloka (moral-vision locus)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: striyaḥ (women addressed in-verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrator addresses a group of women (‘striyaḥ’) while behind him appears a vision of Yamaloka: Yama on a buffalo, scribes (Citragupta), scales of karma, and souls led along a path; the speaker’s face shows sober certainty.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Yamaloka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Karmic realities described in scripture are not merely theoretical; they are presented as directly witnessable truths.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; the verse points to Yamaloka (a post-mortem realm), not a pilgrimage site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it functions as a narrative assertion to reinforce moral seriousness.