Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

प्रत्यक्षः प्रतिमाकारः कालमृत्युप्रकंपनः । उवाच च प्रणम्येशं भुशुंडीं महतीं दधत्

Transliteration

pratyakṣaḥ pratimākāraḥ kālamṛtyuprakaṃpanaḥ | uvāca ca praṇamyeśaṃ bhuśuṃḍīṃ mahatīṃ dadhat

Translation

Il se manifesta devant eux en forme incarnée—celui qui faisait trembler même le Temps et la Mort—puis, s’étant prosterné devant le Seigneur, portant une puissante massue, il parla.

Word by Word

• pratyakṣaḥ: visible, manifest
• pratyakṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pratyakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• pratimā-ākāraḥ: having an image-like form
• pratimā-ākāraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pratimā (प्रातिपदिक) + ākāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (form like an image); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• kāla-mṛtyu-prakaṃpanaḥ: causing Kāla and Death to tremble
• kāla-mṛtyu-prakaṃpanaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक) + prakaṃpana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (one who causes trembling to Kāla and Death); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• praṇamya: having bowed
• praṇamya: Kriya (Gerundial action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pra-√nam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund): having bowed

• īśam: the Lord
• īśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• bhuśuṃḍīm: Bhuśuṇḍī (a mace/club)
• bhuśuṃḍīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhuśuṃḍī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• mahatīm: great, huge
• mahatīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying bhuśuṃḍīm)

• dadhat: bearing, holding
• dadhat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √dhṛ (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present active participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (bearing/holding)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced Kāśīkhaṇḍa norm: Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (guardian aspect—Bhairava/Mahākāla thematic)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sage/audience in frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A formidable embodied being appears—so dreadful that Time and Death tremble—holding a massive club; he bows to Śiva and then speaks, awaiting command.

Characters & Entities

• Mahākāla
• Śiva
• Kāla
• Mṛtyu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Mahākāla is portrayed as sovereign over Time and Death; devotion to him points to transcendence over mortality.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, through the epithet Mahākāla—central to the city’s sacred Shaiva identity in the Skanda Purana.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicit; the act of praṇāma (bowing) models proper reverence before the Lord.