Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

रक्तकंबलिका गृह्य वेपमाना मुहुर्मुहुः । अनुपानहिकाश्चैव नष्टाः सर्वे दिशो दश

Transliteration

raktakaṃbalikā gṛhya vepamānā muhurmuhuḥ | anupānahikāścaiva naṣṭāḥ sarve diśo daśa

Translation

লাল কম্বল আঁকড়ে ধরে তারা বারবার কাঁপতে লাগল; পাদুকাহীন অবস্থায়ই তারা সকলেই দশ দিক জুড়ে ছড়িয়ে পড়ে অদৃশ্য হয়ে গেল।

Word by Word

• rakta-kaṃbalikāḥ: those with red blankets
• rakta-kaṃbalikāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rakta (प्रातिपदिक) + kaṃbalikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya (descriptive; 'red-blanketed ones'), Puṃliṅga (m.)/Strīliṅga (f.) per context; Prathamā vibhakti (Nom./1st), Bahuvacana (Pl.)

• gṛhya: having seized/taken
• gṛhya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Gerundial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: grah (धातु) + lyap (ल्यप्)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (lyabanta/ल्यबन्त अव्यय), meaning 'having taken/seized'

• vepamānāḥ: trembling
• vepamānāḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/Viśeṣaṇa (Descriptive)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vep (धातु) + śānac (शानच्)
• Form: Vartamāna-kṛdanta (present active participle/कर्तरि वर्तमान), Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā vibhakti (Nom./1st), Bahuvacana (Pl.); agrees with rakta-kaṃbalikāḥ

• muhuḥ: repeatedly
• muhuḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: muhuḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Kāla-avyaya (adverb 'again and again')

• muhuḥ: again and again
• muhuḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: muhuḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Punarnipāta (repetition for emphasis)

• anupānahikāḥ: the barefoot ones
• anupānahikāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anupānahikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.)/Puṃliṅga (m.) per usage; Prathamā vibhakti (Nom./1st), Bahuvacana (Pl.); denotes 'without footwear' group/persons

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-avyaya (conjunction)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avadhāraṇa-nipāta (restrictive/emphatic)

• naṣṭāḥ: lost, vanished
• naṣṭāḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/Predicate (State)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: naś (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Bhūta-kṛdanta (past participle/क्त), Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā vibhakti (Nom./1st), Bahuvacana (Pl.); predicate of sarve

• sarve: all
• sarve: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā vibhakti (Nom./1st), Bahuvacana (Pl.)

• diśaḥ: directions
• diśaḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Directional locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: diś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Dvitīyā vibhakti (Acc./2nd), Bahuvacana (Pl.); with daśa = 'ten directions'

• daśa: ten
• daśa: Viśeṣaṇa (Numeral qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśan (प्रातिपदिक संख्या)
• Form: Saṅkhyā-vācaka (numeral), indeclinable-like; here qualifying diśaḥ = 'ten'

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator; specific speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ascetics clutching red blankets, trembling, barefoot, running in different directions; the composition radiates outward like spokes, with fire and smoke at the center.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In the face of moral consequence, worldly security collapses; only dharma provides steadiness when fear scatters the mind.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Dharmāraṇya Māhātmya setting frames the episode; this verse does not identify a distinct tīrtha by name.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.