Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 13
श्यामा तन्वी शिखरदशना बिंबबिंबाधरोष्ठी सुग्रीवाढ्या कुचभरनता गिरिजा स्निग्धकेशी । मध्ये क्षामा पृथुकटितटा हेमरंभोरुगौरी पल्लीयुक्ता वरवलयिनी बर्हिबर्हावतंसा
śyāmā tanvī śikharadaśanā biṃbabiṃbādharoṣṭhī sugrīvāḍhyā kucabharanatā girijā snigdhakeśī | madhye kṣāmā pṛthukaṭitaṭā hemaraṃbhorugaurī pallīyuktā varavalayinī barhibarhāvataṃsā
Girijā erschien als dunkelhäutiges, schlankes Mädchen, mit spitzen Zähnen und Lippen wie reife Bimba-Frucht; mit anmutigem Hals, der Leib unter der Last der Brust leicht geneigt, das Haar weich und glänzend. Schmal in der Taille, breit in den Hüften, hell, mit Schenkeln wie goldene Bananenstämme; in Waldgewand gekleidet, mit herrlichen Armreifen geschmückt und mit Pfauenfedern als Kopfschmuck gekrönt.
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa; traditionally Sūta to sages)
Tirtha: Kedāra forest environs (Devī’s path)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Audience savoring māhātmya and rūpa-dhyāna
Scene: A full kāvya-style portrait of Girijā in forest attire: dark-hued, slender, glossy-haired, bimba-red lips, peacock-feather crown, bangles, and golden plantain-stem thighs—beauty fused with wilderness ornament.
FAQs
The verse celebrates divine beauty as a vehicle of līlā—showing how the Goddess can veil majesty in approachable forms.
The Kedāra region is the textual setting (Kedārakhaṇḍa), though the verse itself is descriptive rather than a tirtha-glorification formula.
None.