Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

महामाये विचित्रांगि गेयनृत्यप्रिये शुभे । विकरालि महाकालि कालिके कालरूपिणि

Transliteration

mahāmāye vicitrāṃgi geyanṛtyapriye śubhe | vikarāli mahākāli kālike kālarūpiṇi

Translation

Ô Mahāmāyā, ô toi aux membres d’une beauté étrange ; ô bienfaisante qui te plais au chant et à la danse. Ô Vikarālī, ô Mahākālī, ô Kālikā — ô toi dont la forme même est le Temps !

Word by Word

• mahāmāye: O great Māyā
• mahāmāye: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahāmāyā (प्रातिपदिक; mahā + māyā)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• vicitrāṅgi: O wondrous-limbed one
• vicitrāṅgi: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vicitrāṅgī (प्रातिपदिक; vicitra + aṅga)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय (variegated + limbed)

• geya-nṛtyapriye: O lover of song and dance
• geya-nṛtyapriye: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: geya (प्रातिपदिक) + nṛtya (प्रातिपदिक) + priyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); समाहार-तत्पुरुष (geya-nṛtya as object-domain + priya = fond of song and dance)

• śubhe: O auspicious one
• śubhe: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śubhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• vikarāli: O fearsome one
• vikarāli: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vikarālī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• mahākāli: O Mahākālī
• mahākāli: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahākālī (प्रातिपदिक; mahā + kālī)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• kālike: O Kālikā
• kālike: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kālikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• kālarūpiṇi: O one whose form is Time/Death
• kālarūpiṇi: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpiṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुष (time/death + form-possessing)

Speaker

Devāḥ (the gods)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A circle of devas offer stuti to Mahāmāyā—simultaneously auspicious and terrible—her form suggesting time itself; hints of dance and song around a fierce, radiant Devī presence in the Prabhāsa sacred landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Mahāmāyā
• Vikarālī
• Mahākālī
• Kālikā
• Kāla (Time)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Goddess is both beauty and terror, art and power—she is Time itself, before whom all forces submit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, as the setting where the gods extol the Goddess’s Kālikā/Mahākālī aspect after restoring dharma.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; the stuti suggests devotional recitation and worship of the Goddess’s Kālikā/Mahākālī form.