Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 110

Devanagari script

हृष्टदंष्ट्राट्टहासानि क्रकचाभनखानि च । तैर्विपाटितगात्रोऽसौ गजमायां व्यपोहयत्

Transliteration

hṛṣṭadaṃṣṭrāṭṭahāsāni krakacābhanakhāni ca | tairvipāṭitagātro'sau gajamāyāṃ vyapohayat

Translation

Mit gebleckten Hauern und brüllendem Gelächter, und mit Krallen wie Sägeblätter, rissen sie seine Glieder auseinander; so vertrieb er diese illusorische Gestalt eines Elefanten.

Word by Word

• hṛṣṭa-daṃṣṭrā-aṭṭa-hāsāni: (their) fierce tusks and loud laughs
• hṛṣṭa-daṃṣṭrā-aṭṭa-hāsāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛṣṭa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + daṃṣṭrā (प्रातिपदिक) + aṭṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + hāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः (कर्मधारयः) — ‘हृष्टाः दंष्ट्राः, अट्टहासाः’ इत्यर्थे (fierce tusks and loud laughs as a set)

• krakaca-ābha-nakhāni: saw-like claws
• krakaca-ābha-nakhāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: krakaca (प्रातिपदिक) + ābha (प्रातिपदिक) + nakha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः (कर्मधारयः) — ‘क्रकचाभाः नखाः’ (saw-like claws)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• taiḥ: by those (lions)
• taiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; ‘by those’

• vipāṭita-gātraḥ: whose limbs were torn
• vipāṭita-gātraḥ: Karta-anvaya (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-√paṭ (धातु) + gātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘vipāṭita’ + तत्पुरुषसमासः ‘vipāṭitāni gātrāṇi यस्य’ (torn-limbed)

• asau: that one (he)
• asau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; निर्देशवाचक (demonstrative)

• gaja-māyām: the elephant-illusion
• gaja-māyām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaja (प्रातिपदिक) + māyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः — ‘गजस्य माया’ (elephant-illusion)

• vyapohayat: removed, dispelled
• vyapohayat: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-apa-√uh (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; उपसर्गाः ‘vi-’ ‘apa-’

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) narrating to the sages (contextual attribution within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Thousands of lions with bared fangs and roaring laughter, claws like saw-blades, rend the elephant-form’s limbs; the illusion collapses as the true daitya form is forced to reappear amid blood and dust.

Characters & Entities

• Jambha
• Māyā (illusion)
• Gaja (elephant form)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Māyā can appear massive and terrifying, yet it is dispelled when truth and divine force pierce through deception.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it belongs to a dharma-yuddha narrative within the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is purely narrative (battle and the removal of illusion).