Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 183

Devanagari script

तस्मादत्र नृणां दाहश्चास्थिक्षेपश्च भारत । प्रयागादधिकौ प्रोक्तौ महेशस्य वचो यथा

Transliteration

tasmādatra nṛṇāṃ dāhaścāsthikṣepaśca bhārata | prayāgādadhikau proktau maheśasya vaco yathā

Translation

ஆகவே, ஓ பாரதா, இவ்விடத்தில் மனிதரின் தகனம் மற்றும் அஸ்தி-க்ஷேபம்—மஹேசனின் வாக்கின்படி—பிரயாகத்தைவிட மேலான பலன் தருவதாக கூறப்படுகிறது.

Word by Word

• tasmāt: therefore/from that
• tasmāt: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; हेतौ

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb of place)

• nṛṇām: of men/people
• nṛṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• dāhaḥ: cremation/burning
• dāhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपातः

• asthi-kṣepaḥ: casting of bones
• asthi-kṣepaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asthi (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣepa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः—अस्थ्नां क्षेपः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपातः

• bhārata: O Bhārata
• bhārata: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhārata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; संबोधनम्

• prayāgāt: from/than Prayāga
• prayāgāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prayāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; अपादानम् (comparison source)

• adhikau: greater/superior
• adhikau: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, द्विवचनम्; विशेषणम् (दाहः, अस्थिक्षेपः)

• proktau: are declared
• proktau: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + √vac (वच् धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः (क्त), पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा द्विवचनम्; कर्मणि—‘are said’

• maheśasya: of Maheśa (Śiva)
• maheśasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maheśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• vacaḥ: word/statement
• vacaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vacas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• yathā: as/according to
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparator)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमान/प्रकारवाचक-अव्ययम् (as/according to)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; speaker not explicit in the verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Barkareśvara (funerary tīrtha)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Arjuna (addressed as Bhārata)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred cremation ground near the Barkareśvara shrine: funeral pyre flames rise, priests chant, relatives perform asthi-kṣepa into consecrated waters/earth; above, Maheśa’s unseen sanction is felt, with Prayāga symbolically shown as a distant comparator.

Characters & Entities

• Bhārata
• Maheśa (Śiva)
• Prayāga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva-centered sacred geography elevates even last rites into dharmic acts that generate exceptional puṇya when performed at a praised tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A local Śaiva tīrtha in the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa context is being praised as surpassing even Prayāga in merit for cremation and bone-immersion.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Antyeṣṭi (cremation) and asthi-kṣepa/visarjana (casting/immersing bones/ashes) performed at the praised place.