Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

करालो विकटो मुंडः पुरुषः कृष्णपिंगलः । सम्मार्जनी महाकेतुर्जपापुष्पावतंसकः

Transliteration

karālo vikaṭo muṃḍaḥ puruṣaḥ kṛṣṇapiṃgalaḥ | sammārjanī mahāketurjapāpuṣpāvataṃsakaḥ

Translation

Un homme apparut—au visage terrible, à l’allure monstrueuse, la tête rasée, d’une teinte sombre fauve—tenant un balai, portant une grande bannière, et paré d’une guirlande de fleurs de japā (hibiscus).

Word by Word

• karālaḥ: terrible, gaping-toothed
• karālaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: karāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• vikaṭaḥ: hideous, grotesque
• vikaṭaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vikaṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• muṇḍaḥ: shaven-headed, bald
• muṇḍaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: muṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• puruṣaḥ: a man/person
• puruṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puruṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• kṛṣṇa-piṃgalaḥ: black-and-tawny
• kṛṣṇa-piṃgalaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + piṃgala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (कृष्णश्च पिङ्गलश्च/कृष्णपिङ्गलः)

• sammārjanī: a broom
• sammārjanī: Karta (Appositional/नाम)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sammārjanī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• mahā-ketuḥ: a great banner/standard
• mahā-ketuḥ: Karta (Appositional/नाम)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + ketu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (महान् केतुः)

• japā-puṣpa-avataṃsakaḥ: wearing hibiscus flowers as an ornament
• japā-puṣpa-avataṃsakaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: japā (प्रातिपदिक) + puṣpa (प्रातिपदिक) + avataṃsaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (जपापुष्पस्य अवतंसकः = having hibiscus-flowers as an ornament)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator in Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya; traditionally Sūta)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grim, shaven-headed, dark-tawny figure manifests suddenly, holding a broom and a tall banner, hibiscus garland vivid against his austere form—an embodied omen of dissolution.

Characters & Entities

• Kāla (implied via description)
• japāpuṣpa (hibiscus)
• mahāketu (banner)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa externalizes destiny as a visible omen: Kāla’s terrifying form warns that decline begins subtly and then becomes unmistakable.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra; the māhātmya situates these omens within the sacred precincts associated with the Prabhāsa tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is descriptive of an ominous apparition.