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

അപ്പോൾ മഹാബാഹുവായ ശ്രീരാമൻ നദനദീപതിയുടെ തീരത്ത് കുശ പായിച്ച ശയനത്തിൽ, വേദിയിൽ ഹുതാശനൻ നിലകൊള്ളുന്നതുപോലെ, ശയിച്ചു।

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.