Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

श्रितस्तदैरावणनामकुंजरे महाबलश्चित्रविशेषितांबरः । विशालवज्रांगवितानभूषितः प्रकीर्णकेयूरभुजाग्रमंडलः

Transliteration

śritastadairāvaṇanāmakuṃjare mahābalaścitraviśeṣitāṃbaraḥ | viśālavajrāṃgavitānabhūṣitaḥ prakīrṇakeyūrabhujāgramaṃḍalaḥ

Translation

ثم إن صاحب البأس العظيم جلس على الفيل المسمّى إيرافاتا (Airāvata)، مرتديًا ثيابًا مزدانة بنقوش عجيبة. وكان متحلّيًا ببهاءٍ واسع كأنه مظلّة من برق، وبأساور للعضد تتلألأ كأنها متناثرة حول دوائر ذراعيه القويتين.

Word by Word

• śritaḥ: having resorted to; mounted
• śritaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śri (धातु) + kta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृत् (past passive participle)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• airāvaṇa-nāma-kuṃjare: on the elephant named Airāvata
• airāvaṇa-nāma-kuṃjare: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: airāvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + nāma (प्रातिपदिक) + kuṃjara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (नाम-तत्पुरुष: ‘ऐरावण-नाम’ + ‘कुञ्जर’)

• mahā-balaḥ: very strong
• mahā-balaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + bala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (‘महद् बलं यस्य/महाबलः’)

• citra-viśeṣita-ambaraḥ: wearing a variegated/ornamented garment
• citra-viśeṣita-ambaraḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: citra (प्रातिपदिक) + viśeṣita (viśeṣ (धातु) + kta) + ambara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्राय: ‘चित्रेण विशेषितम् अम्बरं यस्य’)

• viśāla-vajra-aṅga-vitāna-bhūṣitaḥ: adorned with a vast canopy and thunderbolt-like limbs/ornaments
• viśāla-vajra-aṅga-vitāna-bhūṣitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viśāla (प्रातिपदिक) + vajra (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + vitāna (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūṣita (bhūṣ (धातु) + kta)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास; क्तान्त विशेषण (‘…भूषितः’ = adorned)

• prakīrṇa-keyūra-bhuja-agra-maṇḍalaḥ: with forearms encircled by scattered armlets
• prakīrṇa-keyūra-bhuja-agra-maṇḍalaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prakīrṇa (pra + kṝ (धातु) + kta) + keyūra (प्रातिपदिक) + bhuja (प्रातिपदिक) + agra (प्रातिपदिक) + maṇḍala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (‘प्रकीर्णानि केयूराणि यस्मिन्…’; ‘भुजाग्र-मण्डल’ = circle/region of the forearms)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced for Māheśvara Khaṇḍa narration)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra, radiant and heavily ornamented, mounts Airāvata; patterned garments shimmer; a vast canopy glows like lightning; armlets and jeweled ornaments scatter light around his powerful arms.

Characters & Entities

• Indra (implied)
• Airāvata

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Power is shown as disciplined and luminous—divine strength is not mere force but an ordered radiance serving cosmic balance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is mentioned in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.