Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

स्मशाने क्रीडनं यस्य भस्म गात्रविलेपनम् । भूषणं चाहयो वस्त्रं दिशो यस्य जटालका

Transliteration

smaśāne krīḍanaṃ yasya bhasma gātravilepanam | bhūṣaṇaṃ cāhayo vastraṃ diśo yasya jaṭālakā

Translation

Der, dessen Spielplatz der Verbrennungsplatz ist, dessen Leib mit Asche bestrichen ist; dem Schlangen zum Schmuck werden, dessen Gewand die Himmelsrichtungen selbst sind und dessen Haar in verfilzten Jata-Locken liegt—

Word by Word

• smaśāne: in the cremation ground
• smaśāne: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: smaśāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative)

• krīḍanam: play, sport
• krīḍanam: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: krīḍana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (relative pronoun), पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive)

• bhasma: ashes
• bhasma: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhasman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

• gātra-vilepanam: smearing on the body
• gātra-vilepanam: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gātra (प्रातिपदिक) + vilepana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): ‘गात्रस्य विलेपनम्’ (smearing of the body), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

• bhūṣaṇam: ornament
• bhūṣaṇam: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

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

• ahayaḥ: snakes
• ahayaḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, बहुवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

• vastram: garment
• vastram: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vastra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

• diśaḥ: directions (i.e., the quarters)
• diśaḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: diś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, बहुवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (relative pronoun), पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive)

• jaṭālakāḥ: matted locks
• jaṭālakāḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaṭālakā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, बहुवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

Speaker

Adhaka

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stark, moonlit cremation-ground vision of Śiva: ash-smeared body, serpents as ornaments, matted locks, the directions as his garment—an awe-inspiring, otherworldly presence.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (implied by iconography)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva’s cremation-ground symbolism teaches impermanence and fearlessness: liberation is found by transcending attachment to body, status, and pleasure.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The imagery resonates strongly with Kāśī’s śmaśāna-bhāva and Śiva’s presence, though the verse itself is descriptive rather than naming a tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed, but bhasma (sacred ash) is evoked as a key Shaiva marker.