Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

यावत्तेंऽतः समारोप्य चितां तस्य कलेवरम् । प्रयच्छंति हविर्वाहं तावन्नष्टं कलेवरम्

Transliteration

yāvatteṃ'taḥ samāropya citāṃ tasya kalevaram | prayacchaṃti havirvāhaṃ tāvannaṣṭaṃ kalevaram

Translation

Just as they were lifting his body onto the funeral pyre and were about to offer it to the fire—the bearer of oblations—at that very moment the body vanished.

Word by Word

• यावत्: as long as
• यावत्: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय/संबन्ध-शब्द)
• Form: परिमाण/कालवाचक-अव्यय — correl. ‘as long as/while’

• ते: of him
• ते: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन — Genitive singular ‘of him’ (contextual)

• अन्तः: within
• अन्तः: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्तः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक) — adverb ‘within/inside’

• समारोप्य: having placed
• समारोप्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial to action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + रुह्/रोप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त — Absolutive ‘having placed/raised onto’

• चिताम्: the pyre
• चिताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चिता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Feminine, Accusative singular

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी, एकवचन — Genitive singular

• कलेवरम्: body
• कलेवरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलेवर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative singular

• प्रयच्छन्ति: they offer/give
• प्रयच्छन्ति: Kriyā (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + यम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन — Present, 3rd person plural

• हविर्वाहम्: to Agni, the oblation-carrier
• हविर्वाहम्: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हविस् + वाह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Masculine, Accusative singular; ‘havis’ (oblation) + ‘vāha’ (carrier) = Agni

• तावत्: then/so long
• तावत्: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (अव्यय/संबन्ध-शब्द)
• Form: परिमाण/कालवाचक-अव्यय — correl. ‘so long/then’

• नष्टम्: was gone/vanished
• नष्टम्: Kriyā (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Past participle ‘destroyed/vanished’ (neut. nom. sg.)

• कलेवरम्: the body
• कलेवरम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलेवर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Neuter, Nominative singular

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic storyteller)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijāḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the moment the body is lifted onto the pyre, it dissolves/vanishes; attendants recoil in astonishment; the fire is unlit, offerings poised; the air shimmers with divine presence.

Characters & Entities

• Havirvāha (Agni)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Extraordinary signs may accompany great spiritual attainment, reminding listeners that the soul’s journey transcends the physical body.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs within a tīrtha-māhātmya setting, but this specific line does not name the location.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It references antyeṣṭi (funeral rite) and offering the body to Agni, but it is descriptive rather than prescriptive.