Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

कंठे कर्कोटकं नागं हारभूतं च कार सा । पदकं वृश्चिकानां च दंदशूकांश्च बिभ्रती

Transliteration

kaṃṭhe karkoṭakaṃ nāgaṃ hārabhūtaṃ ca kāra sā | padakaṃ vṛścikānāṃ ca daṃdaśūkāṃśca bibhratī

Translation

Autour de son cou, elle portait le serpent Karkoṭaka en guise de guirlande ; elle arborait aussi un ornement fait de scorpions et se parait de serpents venimeux.

Word by Word

• कण्ठे: on the neck
• कण्ठे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaṇṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• कर्कोटकम्: Karkoṭaka (a serpent)
• कर्कोटकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karkoṭaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• नागम्: a serpent
• नागम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्कोटकम् इति नागम् (अप्पोजिशन)

• हार-भूतम्: serving as a necklace
• हार-भूतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hāra (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūta (√bhū, भू, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमास (हारः भूतो यः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• कार: she made/placed
• कार: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ) लिट्/लुङ्? (काव्ये लुङ्-रूपवत्)
• Form: परस्मैपदी; लुङ् (aorist), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; ‘अकरोत्’ अर्थे काव्यप्रयोगः

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• पदकम्: an ornament/pendant
• पदकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• वृश्चिकानाम्: of scorpions
• वृश्चिकानाम्: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛścika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• दन्दशूकान्: serpents
• दन्दशूकान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daṃdaśūka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• बिभ्रती: bearing, wearing
• बिभ्रती: Kriya (Participial predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhṛ (भृ) शतृ (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमान कृदन्त (present active participle) — ‘bearing’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa), per Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative convention

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedārakṣetra (ugra-śakti protective aspect)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close-up of the fearsome leader: Karkoṭaka serpent coiled as a garland at the neck; scorpion-ornament and multiple venomous snakes as jewelry; eyes blazing, aura crackling.

Characters & Entities

• Karkoṭaka (Nāga)
• Yoginī/Devī (implied from prior verse)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The divine is not limited to gentle forms; fierce iconography signifies mastery over fear, poison, and death.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kedāra-kṣetra, within whose mahatmya the awe-inspiring attendants of the divine are described.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is iconographic description rather than a ritual instruction.