Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 65

Devanagari script

प्रदीप्ते ऽग्नौ महाज्वाले परित्यक्ष्ये कलेवरम् । काष्ठान्यानयत क्षिप्रं तैरग्निश्च समिध्यताम्

Transliteration

pradīpte 'gnau mahājvāle parityakṣye kalevaram | kāṣṭhānyānayata kṣipraṃ tairagniśca samidhyatām

Translation

“മഹാജ്വാലകളോടെ ജ്വലിക്കുന്ന അഗ്നിയിൽ ഞാൻ ഈ കലെവരം ഉപേക്ഷിക്കും. വേഗം വിറകുകൾ കൊണ്ടുവരിക; അവകൊണ്ട് അഗ്നി നന്നായി ജ്വലിക്കട്ടെ.”

Word by Word

• प्रदीप्ते: in the kindled (fire)
• प्रदीप्ते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-दीप्त (प्रातिपदिक; क्त-प्रत्यय from √दीप् (धातु))
• Form: सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग-रूप; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण ‘kindled/blazing’; agrees with ‘अग्नौ’ (locative)

• अग्नौ: in the fire
• अग्नौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; (sandhi: ऽग्नौ = अग्नौ)

• महाज्वाले: with great flames
• महाज्वाले: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा + ज्वाला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; कर्मधारयः: ‘महती ज्वाला यस्य (अग्नेः)’ / ‘great-flamed’; agrees with ‘अग्नौ’ (locative sense)

• परित्यक्ष्ये: I shall abandon
• परित्यक्ष्ये: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-√त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (simple future); उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• कलेवरम्: body
• कलेवरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलेवर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• काष्ठानि: pieces of wood
• काष्ठानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन; (sandhi: काष्ठान्य् = काष्ठानि)

• आनयत: bring
• आनयत: Kriya (Imperative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√नी (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative); मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• क्षिप्रम्: quickly
• क्षिप्रम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्षिप्रम् (अव्यय/नपुंसक-रूप)
• Form: अव्यय; काल/रीत्यर्थ-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: quickly)

• तैः: with those
• तैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; ‘with those (woods)’

• अग्निः: the fire
• अग्निः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• समिध्यताम्: let (it) be kindled
• समिध्यताम्: Kriya (Imperative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-√इध् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; आज्ञार्थे—‘let it be kindled’

Speaker

Pāṇḍya king Śaṅkara

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setu-kshetra (context)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A great fire blazes high; the king commands attendants to bring wood and kindle it well, declaring he will relinquish his body in the flames; ministers recoil, sages watch with grave composure, the sky lit by orange-red tongues of fire.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkara (Pāṇḍya king)
• Agni
• Ministers (implied attendants)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Atonement is portrayed as decisive action—renunciation of life itself—when dharma deems the offense extremely grave.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setu, the sacred setting where expiation is enacted and spiritually contextualized.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Kindling a great fire and performing deha-tyāga (abandoning the body) as the expiatory act.