Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 68

Devanagari script

अथ प्राप्ते निशार्धे तु योगिन्यस्ताः सुदारुणाः । महामांसं महामांसमित्यूचुर्भक्षणाय वै

Transliteration

atha prāpte niśārdhe tu yoginyastāḥ sudāruṇāḥ | mahāmāṃsaṃ mahāmāṃsamityūcurbhakṣaṇāya vai

Translation

Als dann Mitternacht gekommen war, schrien jene überaus schrecklichen Yoginīs nach Speise und riefen: „Großes Fleisch! Großes Fleisch!“

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रमसूचक/आरम्भसूचक (then/now)

• प्राप्ते: when (it) had arrived
• प्राप्ते: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-आप् (धातु) → प्राप्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचन; नपुंसकलिङ्गे (locative singular, neuter); भूतकृदन्त/क्त (past passive participle) — ‘when (it) had come/arrived’

• निशार्धे: at midnight
• निशार्धे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निशा + अर्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (night’s half)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधार्थक-निपात (but/indeed)

• योगिन्यः: the yoginīs
• योगिन्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योगिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• ताः: those (f.)
• ताः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• सुदारुणाः: very fierce
• सुदारुणाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु + दारुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• महामांसम्: great meat
• महामांसम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + मांस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (great meat)

• महामांसम्: great meat (again)
• महामांसम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + मांस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (repetition for emphasis)

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण-चिह्न (quotative ‘thus’)

• ऊचुः: they said
• ऊचुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्शभूत/Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• भक्षणाय: for eating
• भक्षणाय: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थ (for the purpose of eating)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक-निपात (indeed/verily)

Speaker

Narrator (reporting the Yoginīs)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At midnight in a cremation-ground-like sacred precinct, fierce yoginīs appear, hair unbound, eyes blazing, calling out in chorus for ‘mahāmāṃsa’ as drums throb in the distance.

Characters & Entities

• Yoginīs
• Śiva (context from prior verse)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇas portray fierce attendant powers around Śiva to emphasize the awe of the kṣetra and the seriousness of approaching it with purity and discipline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode continues at/near the Citreśvara Pīṭha described in the preceding verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription is stated; the midnight setting suggests the broader Śaiva motif of night worship and vigilance at potent pīṭhas.