Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

चतुर्दशानां भूर्लोके वासो वः पालनं तथा । अयमेव श्मशानस्थो भविता श्वा च वाहनम्

Transliteration

caturdaśānāṃ bhūrloke vāso vaḥ pālanaṃ tathā | ayameva śmaśānastho bhavitā śvā ca vāhanam

Translation

„Für vierzehn von euch sollen Wohnung und Schutzamt auf der Erde sein. Dieser hier wird am Verbrennungsplatz verweilen, und ein Hund soll sein Reittier (Vāhana) sein.“

Word by Word

• चतुर्दशानाम्: of fourteen
• चतुर्दशानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (plural)

• भूर्लोके: in Bhūrloka (earth-world)
• भूर्लोके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूर्-लोक (प्रातिपदिक; भूर् + लोक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (singular)

• वासः: dwelling, residence
• वासः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• वः: for you / of you
• वः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी (Genitive/Dative), बहुवचन (plural); enclitic pronoun

• पालनम्: protection, guardianship
• पालनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पालन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• तथा: likewise, also
• तथा: Sambandha (Modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• अयम्: this (one)
• अयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• एव: indeed, only
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (particle of emphasis)

• श्मशानस्थः: situated in the cremation-ground
• श्मशानस्थः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्मशान-स्थ (प्रातिपदिक; श्मशान + स्थ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• भविता: will be
• भविता: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular); परस्मैपदम्

• श्वा: dog
• श्वा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• वाहनम्: vehicle, mount
• वाहनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

Speaker

Bāla-Maheśvara (Śiva in child form)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śmaśāna (archetypal)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rudra assigns fourteen guardians to earth; one is fixed in the cremation-ground, marked by a dog as his vehicle—an emblem of fierce, vigilant boundary-keeping.

Characters & Entities

• Kṣetrapāla
• Bhūloka
• Śmaśāna
• Śvā (dog)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even liminal spaces like the cremation-ground fall under divine protection; nothing is outside dharma’s guardianship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named site; the śmaśāna is presented as a sacredly-guarded locus within Śaiva cosmology.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it establishes the guardian’s iconography (dog as vāhana) and station (śmaśāna).