Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

राक्षसो मानुषाहारः किशोरमुनिनंदनम् । जग्धुं जग्राह शापार्तो व्याघ्रो मृगशिशुं यथा

Transliteration

rākṣaso mānuṣāhāraḥ kiśoramuninaṃdanam | jagdhuṃ jagrāha śāpārto vyāghro mṛgaśiśuṃ yathā

Translation

Un rākṣasa mangeur d’hommes, tourmenté par une malédiction, saisit le jeune fils du sage pour le dévorer, tel un tigre qui emporte un faon.

Word by Word

• राक्षसः: the demon (rākṣasa)
• राक्षसः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• मानुषाहारः: one whose food is humans; eater of humans
• मानुषाहारः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Predicate-noun of subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानुष (प्रातिपदिक) + आहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मानुषाणाम् आहारः)

• किशोरमुनिनन्दनम्: the young sage’s son
• किशोरमुनिनन्दनम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किशोर (प्रातिपदिक) + मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + नन्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मुनिनः नन्दनम्) + कर्मधारय-समासः (किशोरः मुनिः)

• जग्धुम्: to eat
• जग्धुम्: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/Purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (Infinitive), क्रियार्थे (purpose)

• जग्राह: seized
• जग्राह: Kriyā (क्रिया/Finite verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• शापार्तः: afflicted by a curse
• शापार्तः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शाप (प्रातिपदिक) + आर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तृतीया/हेतु-तत्पुरुषः (शापेन आर्तः)

• व्याघ्रः: a tiger
• व्याघ्रः: Upamāna (उपमान/Standard of comparison)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्याघ्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• मृगशिशुम्: a fawn (deer-calf)
• मृगशिशुम्: Upameya (उपमेय/Compared object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृग (प्रातिपदिक) + शिशु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मृगस्य शिशुः)

• यथा: as, like
• यथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Comparison marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमा-प्रयोगे (comparative particle)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; not explicit in the excerpt)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A man-eating rākṣasa, eyes blazing and body tense, seizes a youthful sage’s son like a tiger lifting a fawn; the forest backdrop is dark, with startled deer and broken undergrowth.

Characters & Entities

• rākṣasa
• muni (sage)
• vipra-putra (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unchecked cruelty—especially when driven by cursed fate—threatens the innocent; dharma calls for protecting the vulnerable.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned in this verse; it functions as narrative setup rather than a site-mahātmya statement.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it describes an event in the story.