Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

ध्यानकाष्ठे न संवाद ऋक्षरूपेण ते यदा । तदा निर्धूय सिंहत्वं यक्षरूपमवाप्स्यसि

Transliteration

dhyānakāṣṭhe na saṃvāda ṛkṣarūpeṇa te yadā | tadā nirdhūya siṃhatvaṃ yakṣarūpamavāpsyasi

Translation

„Wenn du mit Dhyānakāṣṭha sprichst, während er die Gestalt eines Bären trägt, dann wirst du, indem du das Löwentum abschüttelst, die Gestalt eines Yakṣa erlangen.“

Word by Word

• ध्यानकाष्ठे: in/with Dhyānakāṣṭha
• ध्यानकाष्ठे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्यान + काष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः

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

• संवादः: conversation/speech
• संवादः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संवाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ऋक्षरूपेण: in the form of a bear
• ऋक्षरूपेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋक्ष + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (ऋक्षस्य रूपम्)

• ते: your/of you
• ते: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-एकवचन रूपम्; अत्र षष्ठी (तव) अधिकं युक्तम्

• यदा: when
• यदा: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्ध-कालवाचक अव्यय (correlative adverb: when)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्ध-कालवाचक अव्यय (then)

• निर्धूय: having shaken off
• निर्धूय: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: निर् + धू (धातु) → निर्धूय (कृदन्त, ल्यप्)
• Form: अव्ययभाव-क्त्वान्त (ल्यप्/त्वा-प्रत्यय), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having shaken off)

• सिंहत्वम्: lionhood
• सिंहत्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिंह + त्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भाववाचक (state of being a lion)

• यक्षरूपम्: Yakṣa-form
• यक्षरूपम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यक्ष + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः

• अवाप्स्यसि: you will attain
• अवाप्स्यसि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + आप् (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (भविष्यत्/Future), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

Bhadra (quoting Gautama’s prior statement about śāpānta)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setu/Setubandha (Rāmeśvara kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The cursed being (later Yakṣa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A foretold condition is stated: when Dhyānakāṣṭha, taking the form of a bear, converses with the cursed being, the lion-form will be shed and a Yakṣa form attained.

Characters & Entities

• Gautama
• Dhyānakāṣṭha
• Bhadra
• Ṛkṣa (bear)
• Yakṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Release from bondage comes through divinely arranged encounters with saints; right dialogue and humility become instruments of liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not directly; the Setukhaṇḍa context suggests sacred space enabling redemption, but no named tīrtha appears in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it states a condition for śāpamokṣa (ending of the curse).