Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

जाल्मरूपधरो भूत्वा शंकरस्तत्र चागतः

Transliteration

jālmarūpadharo bhūtvā śaṃkarastatra cāgataḥ

Translation

Daraufhin kam Śaṅkara auch dorthin, indem er die Gestalt eines jālma (einer niedrigen, verhüllten Erscheinung) annahm.

Word by Word

• जाल्म-रूप-धरः: bearing a vile/lowly form
• जाल्म-रूप-धरः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जाल्म + रूप + धर (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (जाल्मं रूपं धारयति); पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (शंकरस्य विशेषणम्)

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्तः (Gerund/Absolutive); पूर्वक्रिया (having become)

• शंकरः: Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• शंकरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Desha-adhikarana (Place/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (locative adverb)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपातः (and)

• आगतः: came
• आगतः: Kriya (Motion/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + गम् (धातु) → आगत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः (PPP, intransitive sense); पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsakṣetra (Kapāleśvara vicinity)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śaṅkara arrives in Prabhāsa in a jālma guise—plain-clothed, ash-smeared, possibly as a mendicant or lowly figure—while the sacred aura subtly reveals his divinity to the perceptive.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Divine may appear in humble or unexpected forms; reverence and discernment should not depend on outward appearance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Prabhāsa Kṣetra setting within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya, in the Kapāleśvara-related narrative flow.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse narrates Śiva’s arrival in a disguised form.