Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 130

Devanagari script

श्रृगालगृध्रध्वांक्षाणां परमानंदकारिणी । पिशाचजातिभिः कीर्णं पीत्वाऽमिषं सशोणितम्

Transliteration

śrṛgālagṛdhradhvāṃkṣāṇāṃ paramānaṃdakāriṇī | piśācajātibhiḥ kīrṇaṃ pītvā'miṣaṃ saśoṇitam

Translation

Es wurde zu einer Quelle höchster Freude für Schakale, Geier und Krähen; und wimmelnd von Scharen von Piśācas, trank es Fleisch zusammen mit Blut.

Word by Word

• शृगालगृध्रध्वांक्षाणाम्: of jackals, vultures, and crows
• शृगालगृध्रध्वांक्षाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शृगाल + गृध्र + ध्वाङ्क्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; इतरेतरद्वन्द्व; Genitive plural

• परमानन्दकारिणी: giving supreme delight
• परमानन्दकारिणी: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम + आनन्द + कारिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘परमं आनन्दं करोति’ इति; Nominative singular feminine

• पिशाचजातिभिः: by/with tribes of piśācas
• पिशाचजातिभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिशाच + जाति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; Instrumental plural

• कीर्णम्: strewn, scattered
• कीर्णम्: Karma-samānādhikaraṇa (Object qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कीर्ण (कृदन्त; √कॄ/√किर् विक्षेपे)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; past passive participle; agrees with implied neuter object/context

• पीत्वा: having drunk
• पीत्वा: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund); ‘having drunk’

• अमिषम्: flesh, meat
• अमिषम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमिष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; Accusative singular

• सशोणितम्: with blood
• सशोणितम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + शोणित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘शोणितसहित’ इति; Accusative singular neuter

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvara-khaṇḍa context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Jackals, vultures, and crows gather in ecstatic frenzy over the battlefield; shadowy piśāca hosts swarm, drinking blood and consuming flesh; the air is thick with cries and flapping wings.

Characters & Entities

• Piśāca
• Jackals
• Vultures
• Crows

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It starkly contrasts sacred order (dharma) with the chaos of adharma, using piśācas and carrion-eaters as signs of moral and cosmic disorder.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tirtha is explicitly named in this verse; it functions as narrative description within the Kaumārikā-khaṇḍa context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is descriptive rather than prescriptive.