Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 198

Devanagari script

जन्मानि तावंति न संति देव निष्पीड्य सर्वाणि च सर्वकालम् । भूतानि यावंति मयात्र भीमे पीतानि संसारमहासमुद्रे

Transliteration

janmāni tāvaṃti na saṃti deva niṣpīḍya sarvāṇi ca sarvakālam | bhūtāni yāvaṃti mayātra bhīme pītāni saṃsāramahāsamudre

Translation

噫，神啊，我所经历的生死之数不可胜计——在一切时中屡屡被压迫摧折。于这可怖的轮回大海里，我被迫“饮下”（承受、经历）的众生与苦难亦不可计量。

Word by Word

• janmāni: births
• janmāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• tāvanti: so many
• tāvanti: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāvat (सर्वनाम/परिमाण-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; परिमाणवाचक-विशेषणम्

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपातः (negation particle)

• santi: exist/are
• santi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस्)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम

• deva: O god
• deva: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• niṣpīḍya: having crushed
• niṣpīḍya: Kriya (Adverbial action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: niṣ-√pīḍ (पीड्)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive): ‘having crushed/pressed’

• sarvāṇi: all (of them)
• sarvāṇi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषणम्

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपातः (conjunction)

• sarva-kālam: always
• sarva-kālam: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (accusative used adverbially): ‘at all times’

• bhūtāni: beings
• bhūtāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• yāvanti: as many as
• yāvanti: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yāvat (सर्वनाम/परिमाण-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; परिमाणवाचक-विशेषणम्

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• bhīme: in the terrible
• bhīme: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhīma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (locative: ‘in the terrible…’)

• pītāni: drunk/consumed
• pītāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √pā (पा)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘pīta’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• saṃsāra-mahā-samudre: in the great ocean of saṃsāra
• saṃsāra-mahā-samudre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsāra (प्रातिपदिक) + mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + samudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (संसारः एव महा-समुद्रः)

Speaker

A suffering devotee addressing the Lord (within Sūta’s narration; deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhava-sāgara-taraṇa (conceptual tīrtha)

Type: sangam

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A weary soul adrift in a dark, stormy ocean labeled saṃsāra; waves carry images of repeated births and devouring; above, the Lord appears as a calm, radiant refuge extending grace.

Characters & Entities

• Deva
• Saṃsāra (ocean metaphor)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Saṃsāra is beginningless suffering; recognizing its weight intensifies the urgency for divine refuge and liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None is specified in this verse; it is a general lament highlighting the need for deliverance.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse functions as a confession-prayer (śaraṇāgati) seeking release.