Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

कुष्ठव्रणपरीतांगीमुद्यत्कृमिकुलाकुलाम् । पूयशोणितसंसक्तजरत्पटल सत्कटीम्

Transliteration

kuṣṭhavraṇaparītāṃgīmudyatkṛmikulākulām | pūyaśoṇitasaṃsaktajaratpaṭala satkaṭīm

Translation

Ich sah ihren Körper bedeckt mit lepraartigen Wunden, wimmelnd von aufsteigenden Würmern, ihre alte Haut klebte vor Eiter und Blut, ihre Hüften und ihr Rahmen waren ausgezehrt und deformiert.

Word by Word

• kuṣṭha-vraṇa-parīta-aṅgīm: a woman whose limbs are covered with leprous wounds
• kuṣṭha-vraṇa-parīta-aṅgīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kuṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + vraṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + parīta (कृदन्त; √i (धातु) उपसर्ग-परि) + aṅgī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः; विशेष्यः (स्त्री)

• udyat-kṛmi-kula-ākulām: confused/teeming with swarms of rising worms
• udyat-kṛmi-kula-ākulām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: udyat (कृदन्त; √yam (धातु) उत्-उपसर्ग) + kṛmi (प्रातिपदिक) + kula (प्रातिपदिक) + ākula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः; विशेष्यः (स्त्री)

• pūya-śoṇita-saṃsakta-jarat-paṭala-sat-kaṭīm: whose hips are covered with an old film stuck with pus and blood
• pūya-śoṇita-saṃsakta-jarat-paṭala-sat-kaṭīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūya (प्रातिपदिक) + śoṇita (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃsakta (कृदन्त; √sañj (धातु) सम्-उपसर्ग) + jarat (कृदन्त; √jṛ (धातु)) + paṭala (प्रातिपदिक) + sat (कृदन्त; √as (धातु)) + kaṭī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (बहुपदसमास); विशेष्यः (स्त्री)

Speaker

Narrator (first-person voice in the passage; exact attribution not in excerpt)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stark, realistic depiction of a diseased, leprosy-stricken woman with sores and worms; the observer stands nearby, shaken, the scene framed as a moral awakening rather than spectacle.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It presents a stark vision of embodied suffering, prompting dispassion (vairāgya) and compassion (dayā), and reminding readers of karma and the fragility of the body.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha or sacred location is named in this verse; it functions as narrative description rather than explicit sthala-māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is descriptive and preparatory to the ensuing narrative.