Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

महाकाया भीमवक्त्राः पाशहस्ता भयावहाः । अनावृष्ट्युपमा दृष्टा आतुराः पिङ्गलोचनाः

Transliteration

mahākāyā bhīmavaktrāḥ pāśahastā bhayāvahāḥ | anāvṛṣṭyupamā dṛṣṭā āturāḥ piṅgalocanāḥ

Translation

Sie waren von riesigem Leib, von schrecklichem Antlitz, mit Schlingen in den Händen, furchtbar—gleich dem Unheil der Dürre selbst—ruhelos und gequält, mit gelblich stechenden Augen.

Word by Word

• महाकायाः: huge-bodied
• महाकायाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + काय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘महान् कायः येषाम्’ (very large-bodied)

• भीमवक्त्राः: having dreadful faces
• भीमवक्त्राः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भीम (प्रातिपदिक) + वक्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘भीमं वक्त्रम्’

• पाशहस्ताः: with nooses in hand
• पाशहस्ताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाश (प्रातिपदिक) + हस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘पाशः हस्ते येषाम्’

• भयावहाः: fearsome
• भयावहाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भय (प्रातिपदिक) + आवह (प्रातिपदिक; √वह्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अनावृष्ट्युपमाः: like a drought (no rain)
• अनावृष्ट्युपमाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनावृष्टि (प्रातिपदिक) + उपमा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘अनावृष्ट्या उपमा’ (like a drought/no-rain)

• दृष्टाः: were seen
• दृष्टाः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृष्ट (कृदन्त; √दृश्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) — विधेय (were seen)

• आतुराः: distressed/agitated
• आतुराः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आतुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• पिङ्गलोचनाः: having tawny eyes
• पिङ्गलोचनाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पिङ्गल (प्रातिपदिक) + लोचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘पिङ्गले लोचने येषाम्’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) [deduced]

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kuruśreṣṭha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gigantic, dreadful-faced noose-bearers with tawny, glaring eyes—restless like a land under drought—loom at the forest edge, their bodies suggesting heat-haze and desiccation.

Characters & Entities

• Pāśa (noose)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text dramatizes spiritual adversity—dharma remains the refuge when fear and disorder appear.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The narrative zone surrounding Ādityeśvara-tīrtha in Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is given in this verse.