Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

ते पुच्छमौच्चैःश्रवसमधिगम्य महाधियः । सुनीलचिकुराभासं चक्रुरंगं च कर्बुरम्

Transliteration

te pucchamauccaiḥśravasamadhigamya mahādhiyaḥ | sunīlacikurābhāsaṃ cakruraṃgaṃ ca karburam

Translation

Ces esprits pénétrants, parvenus à la queue d’Uccaiḥśravas, firent paraître leurs corps semblables à des cheveux d’un bleu sombre, et d’une teinte bigarrée.

Word by Word

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• पुच्छम्: tail
• पुच्छम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puccha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• औच्चैःश्रवसम्: Uccaiḥśravas (the divine horse)
• औच्चैःश्रवसम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uccaiḥśravas (प्रातिपदिक; uccaiḥ + śravas)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• अधिगम्य: having approached/attained
• अधिगम्य: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: adhi + gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having approached/attained’

• महाधियः: great-minded (ones)
• महाधियः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahādhī (प्रातिपदिक; mahā + dhī)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• सुनीलचिकुराभासम्: having the appearance of dark-blue hair
• सुनीलचिकुराभासम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sunīla-cikura-ābhāsa (प्रातिपदिक; सु + नील + चिकुर + आभास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम् (Singular); विशेषणम्

• चक्रुः: they made
• चक्रुः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकारः (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• अङ्गम्: body/limb
• अङ्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (Conjunction)

• कर्बुरम्: variegated, spotted
• कर्बुरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: karbura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम् (Singular); विशेषणम्

Speaker

Skanda

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sages/serpent-beings reach the tail of the celestial white horse Uccaiḥśravas; their bodies take on dark-blue, hair-like sheen and mottled coloration, emphasizing disguise and uncanny metamorphosis against a luminous sky.

Characters & Entities

• Uccaiḥśravas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse illustrates how beings may adopt deception to escape consequences—an implicit critique of adharma-driven strategy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; this is a mythic narrative detail, not a tīrtha-māhātmya line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.