Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 63

Devanagari script

कुंभकर्णस्तदा चक्रेऽभ्यवहारं चतुर्दिनम् । कुम्भकर्णोकरोद्युद्धं नवम्यादिचतुर्दिनैः

Transliteration

kuṃbhakarṇastadā cakre'bhyavahāraṃ caturdinam | kumbhakarṇokarodyuddhaṃ navamyādicaturdinaiḥ

Translation

Alors Kumbhakarṇa prit nourriture durant quatre jours. Ensuite, à partir de la neuvième tithi, Kumbhakarṇa mena la guerre pendant quatre jours.

Word by Word

• कुम्भकर्णः: Kumbhakarna
• कुम्भकर्णः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुम्भकर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kala-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय — Indeclinable adverb of time

• चक्रे: did/made
• चक्रे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद — Perfect, 3rd person, Singular, Middle voice

• अभ्यवहारम्: eating/consumption (meal)
• अभ्यवहारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अभ्यवहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• चतुर्दिनम्: for four days
• चतुर्दिनम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (संख्या) + दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular; द्विगु-समास, विशेषण (अभ्यवहारम्)

• कुम्भकर्णः: Kumbhakarna
• कुम्भकर्णः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुम्भकर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• उकरोत्: did/performed
• उकरोत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — Imperfect, 3rd person, Singular, Active voice

• युद्धम्: battle
• युद्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• नवम्या: from the ninth (lunar day)
• नवम्या: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नवमी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Feminine, Ablative (5th), Singular (तिथिः)

• आदि: beginning with
• आदि: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आदि (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय, ‘आदि’ = beginning/and so on; समासे पूर्वपद-निर्देशक — Indeclinable indicating “beginning with”

• चतुर्दिनैः: by/for (a span of) four days
• चतुर्दिनैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर् (संख्या) + दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Neuter, Instrumental (3rd), Plural; द्विगु-समास (कालपरिमाण)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced; not explicit in snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kumbhakarṇa, colossal and newly awakened, consumes food for four days; then strides to battle from navamī onward for four days, shaking the ground; rākṣasa drums and conches blare.

Characters & Entities

• Kumbhakarṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It contrasts indulgence with duty: even mighty beings bound to adharma resort to bodily gratification, while the war’s moral weight still unfolds by divine order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is mentioned directly; the verse is a narrative timeline within the Dharmāraṇya section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it provides calendrical markers (navamī onward) rather than a vrata or dāna.