Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 107

Devanagari script

नक्तं ज्वलितकेशाढ्या अंगारानुद्गिरंति वै । अंगारकाः पिशाचास्ते मातृमार्गानुसारिणः

Transliteration

naktaṃ jvalitakeśāḍhyā aṃgārānudgiraṃti vai | aṃgārakāḥ piśācāste mātṛmārgānusāriṇaḥ

Translation

La nuit, riches d’une chevelure flamboyante, ils crachaient véritablement des braises. Ces piśācas étaient appelés «Aṅgārakas» et suivaient la voie de la Mère (Bhūtamātṛ)—

Word by Word

• नक्तम्: at night
• नक्तम्: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नक्तम् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• ज्वलितकेशाढ्याः: rich in blazing hair
• ज्वलितकेशाढ्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्वलित (कृदन्त; √ज्वल् (धातु)) + केश + आढ्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ज्वलित-केशैः आढ्याः = blazing-haired/abounding in flaming hair, विशेषण

• अंगारान्: embers
• अंगारान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अङ्गार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), बहुवचन

• उद्गिरन्ति: they spew forth
• उद्गिरन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद् + √गॄ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha/Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• अंगारकाः: ember-like ones / 'Aṅgārakas'
• अंगारकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अङ्गारक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• पिशाचाः: piśācas
• पिशाचाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिशाच (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ते: those/they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• मातृमार्गानुसारिणः: followers of the mothers' path
• मातृमार्गानुसारिणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मातृ + मार्ग + अनुसारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; मातॄणां मार्गम् अनुसरन्ति इति, विशेषण

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A Purāṇic interlocutor (typically a sage/assembly; exact speaker-listener not explicit in the given excerpt)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A nocturnal shoreline/cremation-ground edge of Prabhāsa: ember-spewing piśācas with flaming hair, moving in a loose pack, their gaze fixed on a distant maternal/Devī path-marker; sparks drift in the wind under a dark sky.

Characters & Entities

• Aṅgārakāḥ (Piśācas)
• Bhūtamātṛ (implied by mātṛ-mārga)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even terrifying manifestations are portrayed as operating under a higher ‘mātṛ-mārga’—a reminder that cosmic powers have ordered allegiances.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, within whose māhātmya these spirit-hosts and their significance are narrated.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it identifies a class of piśācas (Aṅgārakas) and their nocturnal characteristics, supporting the surrounding ritual context.