Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

इति व्यवसितः पापो राक्षसो मनुजाकृतिः । आससाद नृपश्रेष्ठमुत्पात इव मूर्तिमान्

Transliteration

iti vyavasitaḥ pāpo rākṣaso manujākṛtiḥ | āsasāda nṛpaśreṣṭhamutpāta iva mūrtimān

Translation

এভাবে স্থির সিদ্ধান্ত করে সেই পাপী রাক্ষস মানব-রূপ ধারণ করে, যেন মূর্তিমান অমঙ্গল-লক্ষণ, রাজশ্রেষ্ঠের নিকট উপস্থিত হল।

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इति-शब्दः (quotative particle)

• vyavasitaḥ: resolved; determined
• vyavasitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi + ava + √sā (धातु) → vyavasita (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• pāpaḥ: sinful; wicked
• pāpaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• rākṣasaḥ: a rakṣasa (demon)
• rākṣasaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rākṣasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• manujākṛtiḥ: having human form
• manujākṛtiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Appositional qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manuja + ākṛti (प्रातिपदिकौ)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी/उपपद-समासः: 'manuṣya-ākṛti' = human-form)

• āsasāda: approached; came upon
• āsasāda: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + √sad (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• nṛpaśreṣṭham: the best of kings
• nṛpaśreṣṭham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिकौ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी: 'of kings' + 'best')

• utpātaḥ: a portent; calamity
• utpātaḥ: Upamāna (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: utpāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• iva: like
• iva: Sambandha (Simile marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमा-निपात (comparative particle)

• mūrtimān: embodied; having form
• mūrtimān: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mūrti + mat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; मतुप्-प्रत्ययान्त (possessive adjective)

Speaker

Narrator (not specified in the excerpt; likely the Purāṇic narrator within Brāhma Khaṇḍa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A rākṣasa in human guise steps into the royal precincts; behind him faint shadow-form hints at his true nature; the air feels heavy, birds scatter, and courtiers sense unease.

Characters & Entities

• rākṣasa
• nṛpaśreṣṭha (best of kings)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Evil may appear respectable outwardly; discernment (viveka) is required to recognize the ‘embodied omen’ behind a pleasing form.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No sacred geography is specified in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.