Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

अधुना त्वनपत्या त्वमभुक्तविषयासवा । भोगयोग्यमिमं देहं कथं दग्धुमिहेच्छसि

Transliteration

adhunā tvanapatyā tvamabhuktaviṣayāsavā | bhogayogyamimaṃ dehaṃ kathaṃ dagdhumihecchasi

Translation

至今你尚无子嗣，也未曾享受生命的欢愉。你怎能在此想要烧毁这具适于体验和享乐的身体呢？

Word by Word

• adhunā: now
• adhunā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adhunā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• tu: but
• tu: Avyaya (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/विरोधार्थक निपात (but/indeed)

• anapatyā: childless
• anapatyā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anapatyā (प्रातिपदिक; a- + apatya)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (childless)

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• abhukta-viṣaya-asavā: whose life has not enjoyed sense-objects
• abhukta-viṣaya-asavā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: abhukta (कृदन्त; a- + √bhuj) + viṣaya (प्रातिपदिक) + asu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—बहुव्रीहि (यस्या असवः/आयुः विषयान् न अभुक्ताः = whose life has not enjoyed objects)

• bhoga-yogyam: fit for enjoyment
• bhoga-yogyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhoga (प्रातिपदिक) + yogya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (भोगाय योग्यः)

• imam: this
• imam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• deham: body
• deham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• katham: how
• katham: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नाव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• dagdhum: to burn
• dagdhum: Karma (Object of desire/इच्छा-कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dah (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), कर्मार्थक (to burn)

• iha: here
• iha: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• icchasi: you wish
• icchasi: Kriyā (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: iṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Śabara

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śabara emphasizes her childlessness and unexperienced pleasures, pointing to the household space and symbols of domestic life (water pot, grain basket), contrasting with the nearby pyre.

Characters & Entities

• Śabara
• Śabarāṅganā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes responsibilities of life-stages; devotion should not ignore legitimate duties and the sanctity of embodied life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is mentioned in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it is a moral argument against destroying the body as a means to obtain ritual ash.