Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

महामांसाशनं यस्मात्कारितोऽहं त्वयाधम । रक्षोवद्राक्षसस्तस्मात्त्वमद्यैव भविष्यसि

Transliteration

mahāmāṃsāśanaṃ yasmātkārito'haṃ tvayādhama | rakṣovadrākṣasastasmāttvamadyaiva bhaviṣyasi

Translation

‘ഹേ അധമാ! നീ എന്നെ മഹാമാംസം ഭക്ഷിപ്പിച്ചു; അതുകൊണ്ട് നീ ഇന്നുതന്നെ രാക്ഷസസ്വഭാവമുള്ള രാക്ഷസനാകും.’

Word by Word

• महामांसाशनम्: eating much meat
• महामांसाशनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + मांस + अशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (eating of much meat / meat-eating)

• यस्मात्: because/since
• यस्मात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• कारितः: was caused (to do)
• कारितः: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: णिच्-प्रत्ययान्त causative + क्त (Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘made to do’

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तम-पुरुष सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• त्वया: by you
• त्वया: Karana (Agent in passive/instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यम-पुरुष सर्वनाम, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अधम: O wretch
• अधम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अधम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (Vocative), एकवचन; निन्दावाचक

• रक्षःवत्: like a rākṣasa
• रक्षःवत्: Upamana (Simile/उपमान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रक्षस् + वत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/अव्ययवत्, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; वतुप्-प्रत्ययान्त (like a demon)

• राक्षसः: a rākṣasa (demon)
• राक्षसः: Karta (Predicate nominal/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तस्मात्: therefore
• तस्मात्: Hetu (Reason/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (therefore/from that)

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यम-पुरुष सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अद्य: today
• अद्य: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अद्य (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (today)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphasis: just/indeed)

• भविष्यसि: you will become
• भविष्यसि: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple future), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Vasiṣṭha (curse/condemnation)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (assembly of sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vasiṣṭha, blazing with ascetic power, pronounces a curse; the offender recoils as the doom of becoming a rākṣasa is declared ‘today itself’.

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• Rākṣasa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Deliberate adharma against a sage rebounds swiftly; moral law is portrayed as immediate and transformative.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it serves the chapter’s moral arc within the Tīrthamāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is a curse-pronouncement (śāpa) rooted in dharmic violation.