Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

महासुरशिरोमालं महाप्रलयकारणम् । ग्रसत्समुद्रनिहितवातवारिमयं हविः

Transliteration

mahāsuraśiromālaṃ mahāpralayakāraṇam | grasatsamudranihitavātavārimayaṃ haviḥ

Translation

Orné d’une guirlande de têtes de grands asuras, cause de la grande dissolution, il dévora en offrande les vents et les eaux déposés dans l’océan.

Word by Word

• mahāsuraśiromālam: a garland of the heads of great demons
• mahāsuraśiromālam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + asura + śiras + mālā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (mahāsurāṇāṃ śirāṃsi-mālā)

• mahāpralayakāraṇam: the cause of the great dissolution
• mahāpralayakāraṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + pralaya + kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (mahāpralayasya kāraṇam)

• grasat: devouring
• grasat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gras (ग्रस् धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ (Present active participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (विशेषणरूपे)

• samudra-nihita: placed in the ocean
• samudra-nihita: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samudra + nihita (धा धातु/नि+धा क्त)
• Form: भूतकाले क्त (Past participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (samudre nihitam)

• vāta-vārimayam: made of wind and water
• vāta-vārimayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāta + vāri + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (vāta-vāri-mayam = made of wind and water)

• haviḥ: oblation
• haviḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: havis (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (continuing narration)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Bhairava, wreathed in a garland of asura heads, stands amid a churning ocean; winds and waters rise like offerings into his gaping mouth as the cosmos tilts toward dissolution, framed as a yajña.

Characters & Entities

• Asuras
• Ocean (Samudra)
• Pralaya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord is the ultimate power over time and dissolution; even the elements become His offering in the cosmic rite.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tirtha is mentioned; the focus is cosmic pralaya symbolism.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No human ritual is prescribed; the verse uses yajña language (haviḥ) to portray cosmic absorption.