Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

मानुष्यास्थि गृहे यत्र अहोरात्रे व्यवस्थितम् । तत्रायं भूतनिवहो यथेष्टं विचरिष्यति

Transliteration

mānuṣyāsthi gṛhe yatra ahorātre vyavasthitam | tatrāyaṃ bhūtanivaho yatheṣṭaṃ vicariṣyati

Translation

ಯಾವ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾನವ ಅಸ್ಥಿಗಳು ಹಗಲು-ರಾತ್ರಿ ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಳ್ಳಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತವೋ, ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಭೂತಗಳ ಗುಂಪು ತನ್ನ ಇಷ್ಟದಂತೆ ಸಂಚರಿಸುತ್ತದೆ।

Word by Word

• mānuṣya-asthi: a human bone
• mānuṣya-asthi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānuṣya (प्रातिपदिक) + asthi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मानुष्यस्य अस्थि)

• gṛhe: in the house
• gṛhe: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-सम्बन्ध (relative locative adverb: 'where')

• aho-rātre: by day and night
• aho-rātre: Adhikarana (Temporal locative/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahas (प्रातिपदिक) + rātri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), द्विवचन; द्वन्द्वसमासः (समाहारद्वन्द्व: 'day and night')

• vyavasthitam: kept/placed
• vyavasthitam: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-ava-sthā (धातु) + kta (कृत्) → vyavasthita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त-भूतकर्मणि/स्थितिवाचक (past participle: 'placed/kept')

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• ayam: this
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• bhūta-nivahaḥ: the host of spirits
• bhūta-nivahaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta (प्रातिपदिक) + nivaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (भूतानां निवहः)

• yathā-iṣṭam: as they please
• yathā-iṣṭam: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय) + iṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमासः; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: 'as desired')

• vicariṣyati: will wander about
• vicariṣyati: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-car (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Future/लृट्), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (Kumāra) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A quiet house interior with a bundle of bones kept on a shelf; as night falls, a swarm of bhūtas—shadowy, restless—moves freely through rooms, while a lamp flickers weakly.

Characters & Entities

• Bhūta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Association with death-impurity and improper handling of remains is depicted as attracting disruptive forces; dharma requires purity and proper rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, within the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa’s sacred narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not stated directly; the implied prescription is proper funerary rites and avoidance of keeping impure remains in the home.