Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

स्मशाने क्रीडनं यस्य भस्म गात्रविलेपनम् । भूषणं चाहयो वस्त्रं दिशो यस्य जटालका

Transliteration

smaśāne krīḍanaṃ yasya bhasma gātravilepanam | bhūṣaṇaṃ cāhayo vastraṃ diśo yasya jaṭālakā

Translation

جس کی کھیل شَمشان میں ہے، جس کے بدن پر بھسم ملی ہوئی ہے؛ جس کے زیور سانپ ہیں، جس کا لباس خود سمتیں ہیں، اور جس کی زلفیں جٹا بندھی ہیں—

Word by Word

• smaśāne: in the cremation ground
• smaśāne: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: smaśāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative)

• krīḍanam: play, sport
• krīḍanam: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: krīḍana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (relative pronoun), पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive)

• bhasma: ashes
• bhasma: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhasman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

• gātra-vilepanam: smearing on the body
• gātra-vilepanam: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gātra (प्रातिपदिक) + vilepana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): ‘गात्रस्य विलेपनम्’ (smearing of the body), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

• bhūṣaṇam: ornament
• bhūṣaṇam: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

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

• ahayaḥ: snakes
• ahayaḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, बहुवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

• vastram: garment
• vastram: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vastra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

• diśaḥ: directions (i.e., the quarters)
• diśaḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: diś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, बहुवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (relative pronoun), पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive)

• jaṭālakāḥ: matted locks
• jaṭālakāḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaṭālakā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, बहुवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

Speaker

Adhaka

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stark, moonlit cremation-ground vision of Śiva: ash-smeared body, serpents as ornaments, matted locks, the directions as his garment—an awe-inspiring, otherworldly presence.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (implied by iconography)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva’s cremation-ground symbolism teaches impermanence and fearlessness: liberation is found by transcending attachment to body, status, and pleasure.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The imagery resonates strongly with Kāśī’s śmaśāna-bhāva and Śiva’s presence, though the verse itself is descriptive rather than naming a tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed, but bhasma (sacred ash) is evoked as a key Shaiva marker.