Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 130

Devanagari script

महोत्कटा महाकायाः प्रलंबाश्च महोद्धताः । क्लेशरूपाः कृष्णवर्णाः सर्वशास्त्र विशारदाः

Transliteration

mahotkaṭā mahākāyāḥ pralaṃbāśca mahoddhatāḥ | kleśarūpāḥ kṛṣṇavarṇāḥ sarvaśāstra viśāradāḥ

Translation

Ils sont d’une redoutable puissance : aux corps immenses, grands et élancés, d’un élan farouche ; incarnations de l’affliction, à la teinte sombre, et pourtant experts en toute branche des śāstra sacrés — ainsi sont-ils décrits dans ce Dharmāraṇya.

Word by Word

• महोत्कटाः: very fierce/terrible
• महोत्कटाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्कट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• महाकायाः: huge-bodied
• महाकायाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक) + काय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• प्रलंबाः: tall/long-limbed
• प्रलंबाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रलम्ब (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• महोद्धताः: very arrogant/insolent
• महोद्धताः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक) + उद्धत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• क्लेशरूपाः: having the form of affliction
• क्लेशरूपाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्लेश (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive-determinative)

• कृष्णवर्णाः: black-colored
• कृष्णवर्णाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• सर्वशास्त्रविशारदाः: skilled in all scriptures
• सर्वशास्त्रविशारदाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + शास्त्र (प्रातिपदिक) + विशारद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); सप्तमी/षष्ठी-अर्थे तत्पुरुष (determinative: 'in/all scriptures')

Speaker

Unspecified in excerpt (contextual narrator within Brāhma Khaṇḍa; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa-style narration to sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In a dense sacred forest, towering dark-hued, fierce yet composed figures stand like sentinels, holding palm-leaf manuscripts and ritual implements—embodiments of ‘klesha’ yet learned in śāstra.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Power and learning can coexist with inner affliction; dharma requires purification of motive, not merely capability.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya (the sacred forest) is the setting; the verse supports its mahātmya by cataloging beings/lineages associated with it.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated in this verse; it is primarily descriptive.