Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

स वृषेंद्रगतिर्देवो भस्मोरग विभूषणः । महापितृवनावासो दिग्वासाः क्वास्ति संप्रति

Transliteration

sa vṛṣeṃdragatirdevo bhasmoraga vibhūṣaṇaḥ | mahāpitṛvanāvāso digvāsāḥ kvāsti saṃprati

Translation

Jener Gott—dessen Reittier der herrliche Stier ist, geschmückt mit heiliger Asche und Schlangen, wohnend im großen Wald der Väter und in die Himmelsrichtungen gekleidet (himmelsnackt)—wo ist er jetzt?

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• वृषेन्द्रगतिः: one whose movement is like the lord of bulls (bull-like gait)
• वृषेन्द्रगतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषेन्द्र + गति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वृषेन्द्रस्य गतिः)

• देवः: the god
• देवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• भस्मोरगविभूषणः: he whose ornaments are ash and serpents
• भस्मोरगविभूषणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भस्म + उरग + विभूषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः (भस्म च उरगाश्च विभूषणं यस्य/भस्म-उरग-विभूषणः)

• महापितृवनावासः: dweller in the great Pitṛ-forest
• महापितृवनावासः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महā + पितृ + वन + आवास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः (महति पितृवने आवासः यस्य)

• दिग्वासाः: sky-clad (wearing the directions)
• दिग्वासाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिक् + वासस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः (दिशः वासः यस्य)

• क्व: where?
• क्व: Adverbial (देश/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्न-अव्ययम् (interrogative adverb)

• अस्ति: is
• अस्ति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), प्रथम-पुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• संप्रति: now, at present
• संप्रति: Adverbial (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: संप्रति (अव्यय)
• Form: काल-अव्ययम् (temporal adverb)

Speaker

Menā (continuing her address)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahāpitr̥vana (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A seeker questions Śiva’s whereabouts: the ash-smeared, serpent-adorned, sky-clad Lord with Nandin as mount, associated with the ancestral great forest of Kāśī; atmosphere of dusk and searching.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (implied)
• Bull (vṛṣa/Nandin)
• Serpents (uraga)
• Bhasma (sacred ash)
• Pitṛ-vana (great ancestral forest)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva is remembered as the ascetic Lord beyond convention—ash-clad, serpent-adorned, sky-robed—yet still the refuge sought in times of uncertainty.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is directly glorified; the verse alludes to Śiva’s dwelling places (notably a ‘Pitṛ-forest’ setting).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; bhasma is referenced iconographically rather than as a stated rite.