Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

अंगारकेति विख्याता राक्षसी काचिदागता । तस्याश्रममतिक्रूरा मेघस्वनमहास्वना

Transliteration

aṃgāraketi vikhyātā rākṣasī kācidāgatā | tasyāśramamatikrūrā meghasvanamahāsvanā

Translation

Une rākṣasī, connue sous le nom d’Aṅgārakī, arriva en ce lieu—d’une cruauté extrême, mugissant d’un fracas immense tel le tonnerre des nuées—vers cet ermitage.

Word by Word

• अङ्गारका: Aṅgārakā
• अङ्गारका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṅgārakā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — proper name

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotative/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उद्धरण/quotative particle) — ‘thus’

• विख्याता: known as
• विख्याता: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-khyāta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; वि + √ख्या)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) — ‘well-known/called’

• राक्षसी: a demoness
• राक्षसी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rākṣasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘female demon’

• काचित्: some
• काचित्: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kā-cit (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — indefinite pronoun ‘some’

• आगता: arrived
• आगता: Kriya (Predicative action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-gata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; आ + √गम्)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘having come/arrived’ (used predicatively)

• तस्य: his
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन — ‘of him/that’

• आश्रमम्: the hermitage
• आश्रमम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āśrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — ‘hermitage’

• अतिक्रूरा: very cruel
• अतिक्रूरा: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati-krūra (प्रातिपदिक; अति + क्रूर)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘exceedingly cruel’

• मेघस्वना: cloud-voiced
• मेघस्वना: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: megha-svanā (प्रातिपदिक; मेघ + स्वन)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘having cloud-like sound’

• महास्वना: loud-voiced
• महास्वना: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā-svanā (प्रातिपदिक; महा + स्वन)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘loud-voiced’

Speaker

Unknown (narratorial voice within Setu-khaṇḍa; likely Sūta-style narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Āśrama-kṣetra (Aṅgārakī-āgamanam episode)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Aṅgārakī rākṣasī storms toward the hermitage—dark, fierce, with wild hair and blazing eyes—her roar likened to thunderclouds; sages remain poised, the āśrama’s sacred fire steady amid looming storm imagery.

Characters & Entities

• Aṅgārakī (Rākṣasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It introduces the Purāṇic theme that intense spiritual practice attracts trials, testing the steadiness of dharma and tapas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The action is set at an āśrama; the verse itself does not name the specific tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a narrative setup describing the arrival of a hostile being.