Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

महाशिश्नोदरभुजा नृत्यन्ति च हसन्ति च । विकृतैराननैर्घोरैरर्भुजोल्बणमुखादिभिः

Transliteration

mahāśiśnodarabhujā nṛtyanti ca hasanti ca | vikṛtairānanairghorairarbhujolbaṇamukhādibhiḥ

Translation

Avec d’immenses sexes, ventres et bras, ils dansent et rient; leurs visages sont difformes et terribles, certains à la bouche monstrueuse et à d’autres traits effrayants.

Word by Word

• महाशिश्न-उदर-भुजाः: having huge genitals, bellies, and arms
• महाशिश्न-उदर-भुजाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + शिश्न (प्रातिपदिक) + उदर (प्रातिपदिक) + भुज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः; विशेषणम्

• नृत्यन्ति: they dance
• नृत्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नृत् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• हसन्ति: they laugh
• हसन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• विकृतैः: with deformed
• विकृतैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विकृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• आननैः: faces
• आननैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आनन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• घोरैः: terrible
• घोरैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• अर्भुज-उल्बण-मुख-आदिभिः: with (their) swollen mouths and the like
• अर्भुज-उल्बण-मुख-आदिभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्भुज (प्रातिपदिक) + उल्बण (प्रातिपदिक) + मुख (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; समाहार/समूहवाचक-समासः; '...आदि' = 'and the like'

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; continuing the description of fierce attendants)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Grotesque dancers with exaggerated sexual organs, bellies, and arms; they dance and laugh with dreadful, distorted faces and monstrous mouths, intensifying the terror of the assembly.

Characters & Entities

• Fierce attendants (implied)
• Śiva’s retinue context (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The sacred is not limited to the pleasant; Śiva’s domain includes fierce, transgressive forms that signify power over fear, death, and disorder.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Implicitly the Amaraṃkaṭa sacred region in Revā Khaṇḍa, where such manifestations are narrated to magnify the site’s awe and sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is descriptive.