Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

यक्षाः पिशाचाः साध्याश्च पितरो गुह्यकास्तथा । ततः प्रसूता विद्वांसो ह्यष्टौ ब्रह्मर्षयोऽमलाः

Transliteration

yakṣāḥ piśācāḥ sādhyāśca pitaro guhyakāstathā | tataḥ prasūtā vidvāṃso hyaṣṭau brahmarṣayo'malāḥ

Translation

夜叉、毗舍遮、萨陀耶、祖灵（皮特里）以及隐秘众（古希亚迦）皆由此而出。同一展开之中，又诞生八位无垢的梵仙（婆罗摩利希）——安住于清净智的贤明圣见者。

Word by Word

• यक्षाः: Yakṣas
• यक्षाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचन (Plural)

• पिशाचाः: Piśācas
• पिशाचाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: piśāca (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचन (Plural)

• साध्याः: Sādhyas
• साध्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sādhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचन (Plural)

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

• पितरः: the Pitṛs (manes)
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचन (Plural)

• गुह्यकाः: Guhyakas
• गुह्यकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guhyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचन (Plural)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/तुलना-वाचक (likewise)

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादान/क्रम-वाचक (thereafter/from that)

• प्रसूताः: born, produced
• प्रसूताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-√sū (सू धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचन (Plural); उपसर्गः ‘प्र’

• विद्वांसः: the learned ones
• विद्वांसः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: √vid (विद् धातु) + vidvas (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक ‘विद्वस्’; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचन (Plural)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic particle: “indeed”)

• अष्टौ: eight
• अष्टौ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्या; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचनार्थे (used with plural sense: “eight”)

• ब्रह्मर्षयः: Brahmarṣis
• ब्रह्मर्षयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman + ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचन (Plural); तत्पुरुषः (determinative: “Brahma-sages”)

• अमलाः: pure, stainless
• अमलाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a + mala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचन (Plural); नञ्-समास/निषेध (negated: “stainless/pure”)

Speaker

Śiva (contextual; confirmed explicitly at 8.39)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmological emergence scene: yakṣas with treasure motifs, piśācas as shadowy forms at the margins, sādhyas as radiant ascetics, Pitṛs as serene ancestral figures receiving water-offerings, guhyakas as hidden guardians; above them, eight stainless brahmarṣis seated in meditation.

Characters & Entities

• Yakṣa
• Piśāca
• Sādhya
• Pitṛ
• Guhyaka
• Brahmarṣi

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

All classes of beings—celestial, ancestral, and liminal—are included within one sacred cosmology, with purity of wisdom exemplified by the Brahmarṣis.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific site is named; the verse supports a broader purāṇic account of origins.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; though Pitṛs are mentioned, no śrāddha or offering is prescribed here.