Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

पिंगोत्तुंगजटाजूटाः सिंहचर्मावसायिनः । भस्मोद्धूलितगात्राश्च भुजमंडलभैरवाः

Transliteration

piṃgottuṃgajaṭājūṭāḥ siṃhacarmāvasāyinaḥ | bhasmoddhūlitagātrāśca bhujamaṃḍalabhairavāḥ

Translation

Mit fahl-goldenen, hoch aufragenden Jatā-Haarbüscheln, in Löwenfelle gehüllt; die Glieder mit Bhasma, heiliger Asche, bestäubt—furchterregend durch die mächtigen Kreise ihrer Arme.

Word by Word

• पिङ्गोत्तुङ्गजटाजूटाः: with tawny, lofty matted hair-bundles
• पिङ्गोत्तुङ्गजटाजूटाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तुङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + जटा (प्रातिपदिक) + जूट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः; ‘पिङ्गः उत्तुङ्गः जटाजूटः येषाम्’ (having tawny, lofty matted hair-bundles)

• सिंहचर्मावसायिनः: wearing lion-skins
• सिंहचर्मावसायिनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सिंह (प्रातिपदिक) + चर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + अवसायिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘सिंहचर्मणि अवसयन्ति/वसन्ति’ (clad in lion-skin)

• भस्मोद्धूलितगात्राः: ash-smeared-bodied
• भस्मोद्धूलितगात्राः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भस्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + उद्धूलित (कृदन्त; √धूल्/√ध्वंस्? ‘to dust/smear’) + गात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘भस्मना उद्धूलितानि गात्राणि येषाम्’ (whose bodies are dusted/smeared with ash)

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

• भुजमण्डलभैरवाः: fierce ones with an array/circle of arms
• भुजमण्डलभैरवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भुज (प्रातिपदिक) + मण्डल (प्रातिपदिक) + भैरव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः; ‘भुजमण्डलेन भैरवाः/भैरवस्वरूपाः’ (terrible with circles/arrays of arms)

Speaker

Narrator (Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rudras with towering tawny jaṭā, wrapped in lion-skins, bodies smeared with ash; their many arms form a fearsome ring, suggesting unstoppable protective force.

Characters & Entities

• Rudras (implied)
• Bhasma (sacred ash)
• Lion-skin (siṃhacarma)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śaiva renunciation (ash, matted hair) is presented as a source of invincible spiritual power in service of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; the verse is descriptive of divine attendants/leaders.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; bhasma is mentioned as an emblematic adornment.