Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 105

Devanagari script

श्रीकृष्ण उवाच । कुम्भकर्ण इति ख्यातः पूर्वमासीन्निशाचरः । रामबाणहतस्याभूच्छिरश्छिन्नं सुदुर्मतेः

Transliteration

śrīkṛṣṇa uvāca | kumbhakarṇa iti khyātaḥ pūrvamāsīnniśācaraḥ | rāmabāṇahatasyābhūcchiraśchinnaṃ sudurmateḥ

Translation

Śrī Kṛṣṇa sprach: „Einst gab es einen nächtlich umherstreifenden Dämon, bekannt als Kumbhakarṇa. Als jener Bösewicht von Rāmas Pfeilen erschlagen wurde, wurde ihm das Haupt abgeschlagen.“

Word by Word

• śrī-kṛṣṇaḥ: Lord Krishna
• śrī-kṛṣṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī + kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (honorific epithet)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद (said)

• kumbhakarṇaḥ: Kumbhakarna
• kumbhakarṇaḥ: Karta (Subject of implied 'was'/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kumbha + karṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी/उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (proper name)

• iti: thus, as
• iti: Sambandha (Quotative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इति-उद्धरण/नामनिर्देश (quotative particle)

• khyātaḥ: was known (as)
• khyātaḥ: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √khyā (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि (known/called)

• pūrvam: formerly
• pūrvam: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययीभावे)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb: 'formerly')

• āsīt: was
• āsīt: Kriya (Copula/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद (was)

• niśācaraḥ: a night-roamer (demon)
• niśācaraḥ: Karta (Predicate nominal/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niśā + cara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (one who moves at night)

• rāma-bāṇa-hatasya: of (him) slain by Rama's arrow
• rāma-bāṇa-hatasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rāma + bāṇa + hata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (rāmasya bāṇena hataḥ)

• abhūt: was, became
• abhūt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद (became/was)

• śiraḥ: head
• śiraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (neuter nom sg)

• chinnam: cut off
• chinnam: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √chid (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि (cut off)

• su-durmateḥ: of the very wicked-minded one
• su-durmateḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: su + durmati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (very evil-minded)

Speaker

Śrī Kṛṣṇa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Vṛkodara (Bhīma)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kṛṣṇa narrates: the rākṣasa Kumbhakarṇa, slain by Rāma’s arrows; the severed head implied, with epic battlefield aura in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa
• Kumbhakarṇa
• Rāma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma, however mighty, meets its end; Purāṇas link moral history with sacred landscape.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not explicitly named in this verse; it introduces the mythic origin behind a marvel in the landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.