Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 90

Devanagari script

इत्युक्त्वा तस्य दक्षस्य हरपारुष्यभाषिणः । चिच्छेद वदनं वीरश्चपेटशतघातनैः

Transliteration

ityuktvā tasya dakṣasya harapāruṣyabhāṣiṇaḥ | ciccheda vadanaṃ vīraścapeṭaśataghātanaiḥ

Translation

Ayant ainsi parlé, le vaillant héros, frappant de cent coups de sa paume ouverte, fracassa le visage de Daksha qui avait proféré des paroles dures contre Hara.

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इति-शब्दः (quotative particle)

• उक्त्वा: having said
• उक्त्वा: Kriya-viseshana (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु) + क्त्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त; पूर्वकाल (absolutive/gerund)

• तस्य: of him/that
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); एकवचन

• दक्षस्य: of Dakṣa
• दक्षस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); एकवचन

• हरपारुष्यभाषिणः: of (him) who spoke harshly to Hara
• हरपारुष्यभाषिणः: Visheshana (Genitive qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हर (प्रातिपदिक) + पारुष्य (प्रातिपदिक) + भाषिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); एकवचन; समासः—हरं प्रति पारुष्यं भाषते इति (one who speaks harshly to Hara)

• चिच्छेद: cut off
• चिच्छेद: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: छिद् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person); एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• वदनम्: face/mouth
• वदनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वदन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन

• वीरः: the hero
• वीरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• चपेटशतघातनैः: with blows of a hundred slaps
• चपेटशतघातनैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चपेट (प्रातिपदिक) + शत (प्रातिपदिक) + घातन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental); बहुवचन; समासः—चपेटानां शतेन घातनानि (blows consisting of a hundred slaps)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Viśveśvara-kṣetra) as narrative locus; Dakṣa-yajña as exemplum

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis of Naimiṣāraṇya (frame) / internal interlocutors as per Kāśīkhaṇḍa tradition

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vīrabhadra (or a fierce Śiva-gaṇa) stands in the shattered yajña-maṇḍapa, palm raised mid-strike, as Dakṣa’s face is smashed; broken ladles, toppled altars, fleeing devas and ṛṣis, smoke from extinguished fires.

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣa
• Hara (Śiva)
• Śiva’s gaṇa/pārṣada (implied vīra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Insulting the Lord (especially Śiva) is a grave aparādha that quickly brings humiliation and downfall.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, reinforcing Kāśī as the Śaiva sacred landscape where Śiva’s supremacy is upheld.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it is narrative, illustrating the moral consequence of sacrificial pride and blasphemy.