Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

पंचवक्त्रो दशभुजो मुखे नेत्रत्रयान्वितः । कपर्द्दी खंडचंद्रोसौ तथासौ नीललोहितः

Transliteration

paṃcavaktro daśabhujo mukhe netratrayānvitaḥ | kaparddī khaṃḍacaṃdrosau tathāsau nīlalohitaḥ

Translation

« Il a cinq visages et dix bras ; sur sa face brille la triade des yeux. Il est Kapardī, portant le croissant de lune brisé ; et il est aussi Nīlalohita. »

Word by Word

• पञ्चवक्त्रः: five-faced
• पञ्चवक्त्रः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च + वक्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम्—(रुद्रः/असौ); समासः—द्विगु (पञ्च-वक्त्र)

• दशभुजः: ten-armed
• दशभुजः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश + भुज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम्—(असौ); समासः—द्विगु (दश-भुज)

• मुखे: in (his) face(s)/on the face
• मुखे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• नेत्रत्रय: a triad of eyes (three eyes)
• नेत्रत्रय: Samasa-angam (समासाङ्ग/Compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नेत्र + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (समासान्त); समासः—द्विगु (त्रय = three)

• अन्वितः: endowed with
• अन्वितः: Karta-dharma (कर्तृधर्म/Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्वि-इ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Past passive participle used adjectivally); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘युक्त/समन्वित’

• कपर्दी: wearing matted hair
• कपर्दी: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कपर्दिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम्—(असौ)

• खण्डचन्द्रः: with the crescent moon
• खण्डचन्द्रः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: खण्ड + चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम्—(असौ); समासः—कर्मधारय (खण्डः चन्द्रः)

• असौ: he (that one)
• असौ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (deictic: that/he)

• तथा: thus, also
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (adverb: thus/also)

• असौ: he
• असौ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• नीललोहितः: blue and red-hued
• नीललोहितः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नील + लोहित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम्—(असौ); समासः—द्वन्द्व (नीलः + लोहितः)

Speaker

Dakṣa (describing/criticizing Śiva; inferred from surrounding verses where Dakṣa reviles)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visionary or rhetorical cutaway: Śiva appears with five faces, ten arms, three eyes, matted hair (kapardī), and a broken crescent on his locks; his complexion bears the Nīlalohita hue—blue-red radiance—standing serene amid a subtle aura.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (as Kapardī, Nīlalohita)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine forms and epithets signify cosmic functions; misunderstanding them leads to irreverence and loss of discernment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named; the verse contributes to the Śiva-centered narrative within Vastrāpathakṣetra Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is descriptive theology/iconography (used polemically by Dakṣa in context).