Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 86

Devanagari script

यथैव चर्ममुंडैषा महारुंडापि तादृशी । एतावानेव भेदोस्या रुंडस्रग्भूषणात्वियम्

Transliteration

yathaiva carmamuṃḍaiṣā mahāruṃḍāpi tādṛśī | etāvāneva bhedosyā ruṃḍasragbhūṣaṇātviyam

Translation

Just as this one is Carmamuṇḍā, so too is Mahāruṇḍā of the same kind; this alone is the difference—that she is adorned with a garland of severed heads.

Word by Word

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमान/प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (as/just as)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphasis)

• carma-muṇḍā: Carmamuṇḍā
• carma-muṇḍā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: carma (प्रातिपदिक) + muṇḍā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः

• eṣā: this (she)
• eṣā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• mahā-ruṇḍā: Mahāruṇḍā
• mahā-ruṇḍā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + ruṇḍā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्यय (also/even)

• tādṛśī: of that same kind
• tādṛśī: Predicate (विशेषण/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tādṛś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• etāvān: this much
• etāvān: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etāvant (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• eva: only/indeed
• eva: Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय

• bhedaḥ: difference
• bhedaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• asyāḥ: of her
• asyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ruṇḍa-srak-bhūṣaṇatva: the state of having a garland-ornament of heads
• ruṇḍa-srak-bhūṣaṇatva: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ruṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + srak (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + tva (तद्धित-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः; तद्धितान्त (tva = -ness)

• iyam: this (is)
• iyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahāruṇḍā (paired with Carmamuṇḍā)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two fierce Devīs shown side-by-side: Carmamuṇḍā with skull garland/skin attire; Mahāruṇḍā similar but marked distinctly by a garland of severed heads (ruṇḍa-srag) as the key differentiator.

Characters & Entities

• Carmamuṇḍā
• Mahāruṇḍā
• Kāśī-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The same protective Śakti manifests in multiple forms; differences in iconography point to distinct roles while preserving one protective purpose.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī-kṣetra’s guardian tradition; the verse introduces Mahāruṇḍā as another protector associated with Kāśī tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it clarifies identification between two Devī-forms.