Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

चतुर्दशानां भूर्लोके वासो वः पालनं तथा । अयमेव श्मशानस्थो भविता श्वा च वाहनम्

Transliteration

caturdaśānāṃ bhūrloke vāso vaḥ pālanaṃ tathā | ayameva śmaśānastho bhavitā śvā ca vāhanam

Translation

「汝らのうち十四は地上に住し、守護の務めを担う。この者は火葬場に留まり、犬をその乗り物（ヴァーハナ）とする。」

Word by Word

• चतुर्दशानाम्: of fourteen
• चतुर्दशानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (plural)

• भूर्लोके: in Bhūrloka (earth-world)
• भूर्लोके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूर्-लोक (प्रातिपदिक; भूर् + लोक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (singular)

• वासः: dwelling, residence
• वासः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• वः: for you / of you
• वः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी (Genitive/Dative), बहुवचन (plural); enclitic pronoun

• पालनम्: protection, guardianship
• पालनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पालन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• तथा: likewise, also
• तथा: Sambandha (Modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• अयम्: this (one)
• अयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• एव: indeed, only
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (particle of emphasis)

• श्मशानस्थः: situated in the cremation-ground
• श्मशानस्थः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्मशान-स्थ (प्रातिपदिक; श्मशान + स्थ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• भविता: will be
• भविता: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular); परस्मैपदम्

• श्वा: dog
• श्वा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• वाहनम्: vehicle, mount
• वाहनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

Speaker

Bāla-Maheśvara (Śiva in child form)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śmaśāna (archetypal)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rudra assigns fourteen guardians to earth; one is fixed in the cremation-ground, marked by a dog as his vehicle—an emblem of fierce, vigilant boundary-keeping.

Characters & Entities

• Kṣetrapāla
• Bhūloka
• Śmaśāna
• Śvā (dog)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even liminal spaces like the cremation-ground fall under divine protection; nothing is outside dharma’s guardianship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named site; the śmaśāna is presented as a sacredly-guarded locus within Śaiva cosmology.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it establishes the guardian’s iconography (dog as vāhana) and station (śmaśāna).