Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

तत्र राक्षसवेतालाः कंकालाश्च पिशाचकाः । अन्ये च भूतनिवहाः समाजग्मुः प्रहर्षिताः

Transliteration

tatra rākṣasavetālāḥ kaṃkālāśca piśācakāḥ | anye ca bhūtanivahāḥ samājagmuḥ praharṣitāḥ

Translation

Dort versammelten sich, voller Freude, Rākṣasas und Vetālas, dazu Skelettgeister und Piśācas sowie andere Scharen von Wesen.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (locative adverb)

• राक्षसवेतालाः: rakshasas and vetalas
• राक्षसवेतालाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rākṣasa (प्रातिपदिक) + vetāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (इतरेतर); पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

• कंकालाः: skeletons
• कंकालाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaṃkāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• पिशाचकाः: piśācas (ghouls)
• पिशाचकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: piśācaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• भूतनिवहाः: hosts of spirits
• भूतनिवहाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta (प्रातिपदिक) + nivaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (भूतानां निवहः); पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• समाजग्मुः: assembled, came together
• समाजग्मुः: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ√gam (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• प्रहर्षिताः: delighted, thrilled
• प्रहर्षिताः: Karta (Predicate adjective to subject/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra√hṛṣ (धातु) + क्त (भूतकृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (past participle); पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; Setukhaṇḍa narrative voice)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A crowd of supernatural beings converges: towering rākṣasas, dangling-haired vetālas, skeletal kankālas, and gaunt piśācas, all delighted, encircling the ‘meat’ bait amid pyres and smoke.

Characters & Entities

• rākṣasa
• vetāla
• kaṃkāla
• piśāca
• bhūta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It shows that tamasic offerings attract tamasic company; Purāṇic dharma encourages sāttvika conduct and sacred pilgrimage instead.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is glorified; the scene is set in a cremation-ground milieu within Setukhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly.