Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

श्मशानरतिनित्याय नमो गगनचारिणे । ज्येष्ठसामरहस्याय शतरुद्रप्रियाय च

Transliteration

śmaśānaratinityāya namo gaganacāriṇe | jyeṣṭhasāmarahasyāya śatarudrapriyāya ca

Translation

ശ്മശാനത്തിൽ നിത്യരതി ഉള്ളവനേ, നിനക്കു നമസ്കാരം; ഗഗനചാരിയേ, നിനക്കു നമസ്കാരം. ജ്യേഷ്ഠസാമത്തിന്റെ രഹസ്യസ്വരൂപനേ, നമസ്കാരം; ശതരുദ്രീയത്തിന് പ്രിയനായവനേ, നമസ്കാരം।

Word by Word

• श्मशान-रति-नित्याय: to the ever-delighting-in-cremation-ground (one)
• श्मशान-रति-नित्याय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्मशान (प्रातिपदिक) + रति (प्रातिपदिक) + नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (श्मशाने रतिः यस्य सः; नित्यः)

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/उपपद), नमस्कारार्थे; दत्तिवाचक-सम्बन्धे (dative-governing interjection)

• गगन-चारिणे: to the sky-roamer
• गगन-चारिणे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गगन (प्रातिपदिक) + चर् (धातु) → चारिन् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; चारिन्-शब्दः (चर् धातोः)

• ज्येष्ठ-साम-रहस्याय: to the secret of the Jyeṣṭha-sāman
• ज्येष्ठ-साम-रहस्याय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्येष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक) + साम (प्रातिपदिक) + रहस्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे (रहस्य), चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (ज्येष्ठसाम्नः रहस्यं)

• शत-रुद्र-प्रियाय: to the one dear to the Śatarudrīya
• शत-रुद्र-प्रियाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक) + रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (शतरुद्रस्य प्रियः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय-बोधक conjunction)

Speaker

Devī (Satī/Pārvatī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śiva (Rudra/Maheśvara)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva as the cremation-ground delighting ascetic: ash-smeared, with gaṇas, under a vast night sky; Devī offers salutations while Vedic hymn-threads (Sāman, Śatarudrīya) appear as luminous sound-waves.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Rudra)
• Śatarudrīya
• Sāman (Sāmaveda)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva sanctifies even fearful liminal spaces like the cremation-ground, and he is inseparable from Vedic revelation—both mantra and meaning.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra, where the Māhātmya integrates Shaiva ascetic imagery (śmaśāna) with Vedic authority (Sāman, Śatarudra).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; the verse alludes to Vedic recitations (Śatarudrīya, Sāman) as sacred frameworks for praise.