Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

तदा रामः कुशा स्तीर्णे तीरे नदनदीपतेः । संविवेश महाबाहुर्वेद्यामिव हुताशनः

Transliteration

tadā rāmaḥ kuśā stīrṇe tīre nadanadīpateḥ | saṃviveśa mahābāhurvedyāmiva hutāśanaḥ

Translation

Alors Rāma, aux bras puissants, s’étendit sur la rive du seigneur des fleuves et des rivières, sur une couche de kuśa étendue—tel le Feu sacré reposant sur l’autel.

Word by Word

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: “then”)

• रामः: Rama
• रामः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• कुशाः: kuśa grasses
• कुशाः: Karta (of implied passive/participial sense with स्तीर्णे)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• स्तीर्णे: strewn (with kuśa)
• स्तीर्णे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्तॄ (धातु) → स्तीर्ण (कृदन्त, क्त/PPP)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘(कुशैः) आस्तीर्य’ = “strewn/spread”

• तीरे: on the bank
• तीरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• नदनदीपतेः: of the lord of rivers and streams (the ocean)
• नदनदीपतेः: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नद + नदी + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष समास (genitive determinative): नदानां नदीनां च पतिः; पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• संविवेश: entered/sat down
• संविवेश: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि√विश् (धातु) उपसर्ग: सम्
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• महाबाहुः: the mighty-armed one
• महाबाहुः: Karta (Subject-apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + बाहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय समास: महान्तौ बाहू यस्य; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; रामस्य विशेषणरूपेण

• वेद्याम्: on the altar
• वेद्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• इव: like
• इव: Upamana-marker (Simile/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्यय (comparative particle)

• हुताशनः: fire (the consumer of offerings)
• हुताशनः: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हुत + अशन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष समास: हुतं अश्नाति इति/हुतस्य अशना; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; उपमान (simile term)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice; contextually Sūta-like narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setubandha / Rāmasetu-tīra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rāma lies on a kuśa-strewn shore, body composed like a ritual fire on a vedi; the sea glimmers behind, attendants at a respectful distance.

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• Kuśa
• Agni (Hutāśana)
• Sāgara (implied by context of Setukhaṇḍa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is upheld through purity and restraint—Rāma rests on kuśa like a sacrificial fire on the altar, showing inner consecration even in hardship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setukhaṇḍa’s coastal sacred landscape associated with Setu/Rāmeśvaram and the ocean-shore where Rāma undertakes his vow.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here, but the kuśa-bed imagery signals vrata-like purity and a sacrificial (yajña) mindset.