Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

वृक्षचत्वरवासिन्यश्चतुष्पथनिवेशनाः । गुहास्मशानवासिन्यः शैलप्रस्रवणालयाः

Transliteration

vṛkṣacatvaravāsinyaścatuṣpathaniveśanāḥ | guhāsmaśānavāsinyaḥ śailaprasravaṇālayāḥ

Translation

ചില ദേവിമാർ വൃക്ഷകുഞ്ജങ്ങളിലും ചത്വരങ്ങളിലും വസിക്കുന്നു; ചിലർ ചതുഷ്പഥങ്ങളിൽ പാർക്കുന്നു. ചിലർ ഗുഹകളിലും ശ്മശാനങ്ങളിലും താമസിക്കുന്നു; ചിലർ പർവ്വതപ്രസ്രവണങ്ങളുടെയും ജലപാതങ്ങളുടെയും സമീപം തങ്ങളുടെ ആലയം സ്ഥാപിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• vṛkṣa-catvara-vāsinyaḥ: (those) dwelling in tree-squares/courtyards
• vṛkṣa-catvara-vāsinyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + catvara (प्रातिपदिक) + vāsinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण-प्रयोगः (fem. nom. pl. adjective)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• catuṣpatha-niveśanāḥ: having dwellings at crossroads
• catuṣpatha-niveśanāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catuṣpatha (प्रातिपदिक) + niveśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण-प्रयोगः (masc. nom. pl. adjective)

• guhā-śmaśāna-vāsinyaḥ: dwelling in caves and cremation-grounds
• guhā-śmaśāna-vāsinyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: guhā (प्रातिपदिक) + śmaśāna (प्रातिपदिक) + vāsinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण-प्रयोगः (fem. nom. pl. adjective)

• śaila-prasravaṇa-ālayāḥ: having abodes at mountain-springs
• śaila-prasravaṇa-ālayāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śaila (प्रातिपदिक) + prasravaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + ālaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण-प्रयोगः (masc. nom. pl. adjective)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), narrating to the sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ring of uncanny female and spirit-like attendants inhabiting groves, crossroads, caves, cremation-grounds, and misty mountain springs—suggesting a vast sacred perimeter around Guha.

Characters & Entities

• Mātṛs (Mother-goddesses)
• Śmaśāna (cremation ground)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The sacred is not confined to temples; divine guardianship pervades forests, crossroads, caves, cremation grounds, and mountain waters.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named; the verse maps a broad sacred landscape of abodes (ālaya) associated with the Mothers.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it describes locations where these beings are said to dwell.