Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 183

Devanagari script

तस्मादत्र नृणां दाहश्चास्थिक्षेपश्च भारत । प्रयागादधिकौ प्रोक्तौ महेशस्य वचो यथा

Transliteration

tasmādatra nṛṇāṃ dāhaścāsthikṣepaśca bhārata | prayāgādadhikau proktau maheśasya vaco yathā

Translation

Ainsi, ô Bhārata, en ce lieu la crémation des hommes et l’immersion de leurs os sont déclarées —selon la parole même de Maheśa— conférer un mérite plus grand encore que celui de Prayāga.

Word by Word

• tasmāt: therefore/from that
• tasmāt: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; हेतौ

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb of place)

• nṛṇām: of men/people
• nṛṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• dāhaḥ: cremation/burning
• dāhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपातः

• asthi-kṣepaḥ: casting of bones
• asthi-kṣepaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asthi (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣepa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः—अस्थ्नां क्षेपः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपातः

• bhārata: O Bhārata
• bhārata: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhārata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; संबोधनम्

• prayāgāt: from/than Prayāga
• prayāgāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prayāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; अपादानम् (comparison source)

• adhikau: greater/superior
• adhikau: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, द्विवचनम्; विशेषणम् (दाहः, अस्थिक्षेपः)

• proktau: are declared
• proktau: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + √vac (वच् धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः (क्त), पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा द्विवचनम्; कर्मणि—‘are said’

• maheśasya: of Maheśa (Śiva)
• maheśasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maheśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• vacaḥ: word/statement
• vacaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vacas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• yathā: as/according to
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparator)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमान/प्रकारवाचक-अव्ययम् (as/according to)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; speaker not explicit in the verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Barkareśvara (funerary tīrtha)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Arjuna (addressed as Bhārata)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred cremation ground near the Barkareśvara shrine: funeral pyre flames rise, priests chant, relatives perform asthi-kṣepa into consecrated waters/earth; above, Maheśa’s unseen sanction is felt, with Prayāga symbolically shown as a distant comparator.

Characters & Entities

• Bhārata
• Maheśa (Śiva)
• Prayāga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva-centered sacred geography elevates even last rites into dharmic acts that generate exceptional puṇya when performed at a praised tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A local Śaiva tīrtha in the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa context is being praised as surpassing even Prayāga in merit for cremation and bone-immersion.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Antyeṣṭi (cremation) and asthi-kṣepa/visarjana (casting/immersing bones/ashes) performed at the praised place.