Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

कदाचिद्रुद्रभूमिष्ठं सृगालं वानरोऽब्रवीत् । श्मशानमध्ये संप्रेक्ष्य पूर्वजातिमनुस्मरन्

Transliteration

kadācidrudrabhūmiṣṭhaṃ sṛgālaṃ vānaro'bravīt | śmaśānamadhye saṃprekṣya pūrvajātimanusmaran

Translation

Un jour, un singe s’adressa à un chacal qui demeurait sur la terre de Rudra. Le voyant au milieu du champ de crémation, et se souvenant de sa naissance passée, il lui parla.

Word by Word

• kadācit: once, at some time
• kadācit: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kadācit (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: 'at some time/once')

• rudra-bhūmi-stham: situated in Rudra’s ground/land
• rudra-bhūmi-stham: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (कृदन्त; √sthā धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; 'स्थ' (क्तिन्/प्रत्ययान्त-विशेषण) प्रयोगः; समासः: षष्ठी/सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषार्थः—'रुद्रभूमौ स्थितम्' (neuter acc. sg., qualifying sṛgālam)

• sṛgālam: jackal
• sṛgālam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sṛgāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• vānaraḥ: the monkey
• vānaraḥ: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vānara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• abravīt: said, spoke
• abravīt: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √brū (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• śmaśāna-madhye: in the middle of the cremation-ground
• śmaśāna-madhye: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śmaśāna (प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष—'श्मशानस्य मध्ये'

• saṃprekṣya: having observed
• saṃprekṣya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: saṃ + √īkṣ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund); 'सम्प्रेक्ष्य' = 'सम्यक् प्रेक्ष्य' (having looked/observed)

• pūrva-jātim: former birth
• pūrva-jātim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक) + jāti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; कर्मधारय—'पूर्वा या जातिः'

• anusmaran: remembering
• anusmaran: Kartā-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu + √smṛ (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; परस्मैपदी; वानरस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Vānara (monkey)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rudrabhūmi (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cremation-ground on Rudra’s soil: ash-grey earth, scattered bones, a smoldering pyre in the distance; a monkey stands alert, addressing a jackal amid skulls and funeral remnants, with a faint Śiva-liṅga or trident-mark suggesting Rudra’s presence.

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Śmaśāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Karma and past actions can surface even in stark places like a śmaśāna; remembrance becomes the doorway to moral inquiry.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Setu region (Setu-khaṇḍa), associated with Śiva’s sanctity (Rudra-bhūmi) within the Rāmeśvara-Setu sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly here; the verse sets the scene for a dharma-teaching that follows.