Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

महानूर्द्ध्वजटामाली कृत्तिभस्मानुलेपनः । कृत्वा हस्ते कपालं तु ब्रह्मणश्च महात्मनः

Transliteration

mahānūrddhvajaṭāmālī kṛttibhasmānulepanaḥ | kṛtvā haste kapālaṃ tu brahmaṇaśca mahātmanaḥ

Translation

Mit hoch aufgetürmten Jaṭā und einer Jaṭā-Girlande, mit Asche bestrichen und in ein Fell gehüllt, nahm der Große Herr eine Schädelschale in die Hand—die man dem großherzigen Brahmā zuschreibt—und nahm die Gestalt eines umherziehenden Bettelasketen an.

Word by Word

• mahān-ūrdhva-jaṭā-mālī: having a great upward matted-hair garland
• mahān-ūrdhva-jaṭā-mālī: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahān (प्रातिपदिक) + ūrdhva (प्रातिपदिक) + jaṭā (प्रातिपदिक) + mālin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—‘यस्य ऊर्ध्वा जटामाला (महती) अस्ति’

• kṛtti-bhasma-anulepanaḥ: smeared/anointed with hide and ash
• kṛtti-bhasma-anulepanaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛtti (प्रातिपदिक) + bhasman (प्रातिपदिक) + anulepana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘कृत्त्या (चर्मणा) भस्मना च अनुलेपनम् यस्य’ (अलङ्कार/वेष-विशेषण)

• kṛtvā: having made/placed
• kṛtvā: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययभावे) absolutive: ‘having made/placed’

• haste: in (his) hand
• haste: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• kapālam: a skull-bowl
• kapālam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• tu: but/and
• tu: Sambandha/Discourse (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (contrastive/connecting particle)

• brahmaṇaḥ: of Brahmā
• brahmaṇaḥ: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha/Conjunction (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• mahātmanaḥ: of the great-souled (one)
• mahātmanaḥ: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठī)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक ‘महात्मन्’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced from Purāṇic narration style in Āvantya Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dāruvana

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva appears as a towering ascetic: jaṭā piled high, a garland of matted locks, body smeared with ash, wearing a skin; in his hand a skull-bowl (kapāla), signifying the mendicant vow and a cosmic secret.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Mahādeva/Bhikṣāṭana)
• Brahmā
• Kapāla (skull-bowl)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It highlights Śiva’s transcendence of social forms and His use of startling symbols (ash, skull-bowl) to humble pride and awaken discernment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā Khaṇḍa framework links the narrative to the sacred geography around the Revā (Narmadā) region, while the episode itself unfolds in the famed Daruvana setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed in this verse; it is descriptive, establishing Śiva’s mendicant form and emblem (kapāla).