Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

राक्षसो मानुषाहारः किशोरमुनिनंदनम् । जग्धुं जग्राह शापार्तो व्याघ्रो मृगशिशुं यथा

Transliteration

rākṣaso mānuṣāhāraḥ kiśoramuninaṃdanam | jagdhuṃ jagrāha śāpārto vyāghro mṛgaśiśuṃ yathā

Translation

शापाने पीडित मनुष्यभक्षक राक्षसाने मुनिच्या किशोर पुत्राला भक्षण करण्यासाठी वाघ जसा हरिणाच्या पिल्लाला झडप घालून पकडतो तसा धरून घेतला।

Word by Word

• राक्षसः: the demon (rākṣasa)
• राक्षसः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• मानुषाहारः: one whose food is humans; eater of humans
• मानुषाहारः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Predicate-noun of subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानुष (प्रातिपदिक) + आहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मानुषाणाम् आहारः)

• किशोरमुनिनन्दनम्: the young sage’s son
• किशोरमुनिनन्दनम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किशोर (प्रातिपदिक) + मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + नन्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मुनिनः नन्दनम्) + कर्मधारय-समासः (किशोरः मुनिः)

• जग्धुम्: to eat
• जग्धुम्: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/Purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (Infinitive), क्रियार्थे (purpose)

• जग्राह: seized
• जग्राह: Kriyā (क्रिया/Finite verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• शापार्तः: afflicted by a curse
• शापार्तः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शाप (प्रातिपदिक) + आर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तृतीया/हेतु-तत्पुरुषः (शापेन आर्तः)

• व्याघ्रः: a tiger
• व्याघ्रः: Upamāna (उपमान/Standard of comparison)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्याघ्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• मृगशिशुम्: a fawn (deer-calf)
• मृगशिशुम्: Upameya (उपमेय/Compared object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृग (प्रातिपदिक) + शिशु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मृगस्य शिशुः)

• यथा: as, like
• यथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Comparison marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमा-प्रयोगे (comparative particle)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; not explicit in the excerpt)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A man-eating rākṣasa, eyes blazing and body tense, seizes a youthful sage’s son like a tiger lifting a fawn; the forest backdrop is dark, with startled deer and broken undergrowth.

Characters & Entities

• rākṣasa
• muni (sage)
• vipra-putra (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unchecked cruelty—especially when driven by cursed fate—threatens the innocent; dharma calls for protecting the vulnerable.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned in this verse; it functions as narrative setup rather than a site-mahātmya statement.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it describes an event in the story.