Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

महिषो दानवेन्द्रस्तु कल्पांतां भोदसन्निभः । अस्त्रं चकार सावित्रमुल्कासंघातमंडितम्

Transliteration

mahiṣo dānavendrastu kalpāṃtāṃ bhodasannibhaḥ | astraṃ cakāra sāvitramulkāsaṃghātamaṃḍitam

Translation

Namun Mahiṣa, raja para Dānava—mengerikan laksana api pada akhir kalpa—membentuk senjata Sāvitra, berhias gugusan nyala meteor yang menyala-nyala.

Word by Word

• mahiṣaḥ: Mahiṣa (the buffalo-demon)
• mahiṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahiṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/कर्ता), एकवचन

• dānava-indraḥ: the lord of the Dānavas
• dānava-indraḥ: Karta (Appositional/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dānava (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: दानवेन्द्र (lord of Dānavas) षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; mahiṣaḥ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• kalpa-antām: like the end of an aeon
• kalpa-antām: Karma (Accusative of comparison/उपमान-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kalpa (प्रातिपदिक) + anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: कल्पान्त (end of an aeon) तत्पुरुष; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; उपमान-विशेषण (…सन्निभः)

• bhoda-sannibhaḥ: resembling bhoda (very formidable)
• bhoda-sannibhaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhoda (प्रातिपदिक) + sannibha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: भोदसन्निभ (resembling 'bhoda'—textual/rare term) तत्पुरुष; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; mahiṣaḥ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• astraṃ: a weapon/missile
• astraṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: astra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/कर्म), एकवचन

• cakāra: made/produced
• cakāra: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; √कृ (to make/perform)

• sāvitraṃ: Sāvitra (of Savitṛ/the Sun)
• sāvitraṃ: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sāvitra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; astraṃ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• ulkā-saṃghāta-maṇḍitam: adorned with a cluster of meteors
• ulkā-saṃghāta-maṇḍitam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ulkā (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃghāta (प्रातिपदिक) + maṇḍita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: उल्कासंघातमण्डित (adorned with a mass of meteors) तत्पुरुष; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; astraṃ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mahiṣa, towering and terrifying, conjures a radiant Sāvitra astra; the sky fills with a cluster of meteoric fireballs, like a shower of blazing ulkās, casting harsh light over the field.

Characters & Entities

• Mahiṣa
• Dānavas
• Sāvitra-astra
• Savitṛ

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas depict even destructive forces drawing on ‘solar’ power; power itself is neutral—its moral weight depends on the wielder’s dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None is mentioned; this is a mythic battle passage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.