Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

तच्छ्मशानं समासाद्य भूतवेतालसंकुलम् । शूलप्रोताय वै तस्मै जलं दातुं समुत्सुकः

Transliteration

tacchmaśānaṃ samāsādya bhūtavetālasaṃkulam | śūlaprotāya vai tasmai jalaṃ dātuṃ samutsukaḥ

Translation

ഭൂതവേതാളങ്ങൾ നിറഞ്ഞ ആ ശ്മശാനത്തിൽ എത്തി, ശൂലത്തിൽ കുത്തപ്പെട്ട അവന് ജലം നൽകാൻ അവൻ അത്യന്തം ഉത്സുകനായി।

Word by Word

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषण (pointing)

• श्मशानम्: cremation ground
• श्मशानम्: Karma (Goal as object with gerund/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्मशान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• समासाद्य: having reached
• समासाद्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम्-आ-√सद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive), अव्ययभाव; ‘having reached/approached’

• भूतवेतालसंकुलम्: crowded with ghosts and vetālas
• भूतवेतालसंकुलम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भूत (प्रातिपदिक) + वेताल (प्रातिपदिक) + संकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘भूत-वेतालैः संकुलम्’ = crowded with ghosts and vetālas)

• शूलप्रोताय: to the impaled one
• शूलप्रोताय: Sampradana (Recipient qualified/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शूल (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रोत (प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन; ‘शूले प्रोतः’

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात; emphasis)

• तस्मै: to him
• तस्मै: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/सामान्य, चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• जलम्: water
• जलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• दातुम्: to give
• दातुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दा (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन् (infinitive), अव्ययभाव; ‘to give’

• समुत्सुकः: eager
• समुत्सुकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समुत्सुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śmaśāna (episode-site)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Aśokadatta arrives at a cremation-ground teeming with bhūtas and vetālas, yet remains eager to offer water to the impaled sufferer.

Characters & Entities

• Śmaśāna
• Bhūta
• Vetāla
• Śūlaprota
• Aśokadatta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True charity and duty are upheld even in frightening, inauspicious settings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setu Kṣetra’s environs, where dharma is tested through liminal spaces like the śmaśāna.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Giving water (jala-dāna) to the suffering.