Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

शवयानरते रम्ये भुजंगाभरणान्विते । पाशहस्ते महाहस्ते रुधिरौघकृतास्पदे

Transliteration

śavayānarate ramye bhujaṃgābharaṇānvite | pāśahaste mahāhaste rudhiraughakṛtāspade

Translation

Wahai yang elok, yang bersuka cita menjadikan mayat sebagai wahana, berhias perhiasan ular. Wahai pemegang jerat (pāśa), wahai yang bertangan perkasa—yang bersemayam di tengah gelombang deras darah.

Word by Word

• शवयानरते: O one delighting in a corpse-vehicle
• शवयानरते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शव (प्रातिपदिक) + यान (प्रातिपदिक) + रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (शवयान-रता)

• रम्ये: O lovely one
• रम्ये: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रम्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

• भुजंगाभरणान्विते: O adorned with serpent-ornaments
• भुजंगाभरणान्विते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भुजङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + आभरण (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्वित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (भुजङ्ग-आभरणैः अन्विता)

• पाशहस्ते: O she whose hand holds a noose
• पाशहस्ते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाश (प्रातिपदिक) + हस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (पाशः हस्ते यस्याः)

• महाहस्ते: O great-handed one
• महाहस्ते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + हस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महान् हस्तः)

• रुधिरौघकृतास्पदे: O whose abode is made of a flood of blood
• रुधिरौघकृतास्पदे: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रुधिर (प्रातिपदिक) + ओघ (प्रातिपदिक) + कृत (कृ धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय; कृदन्त) + आस्पद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (रुधिर-ओघेन कृतम् आस्पदं यस्याः)

Speaker

Niṣadhādhipati (the lord/king of Niṣadha), offering Devī-stuti

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The goddess rides/stands upon a bier (śava-yāna), adorned with serpents, holding a noose; her abode is envisioned amid torrents of blood—symbolic of time, dissolution, and fierce protection.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Pāśa (noose)
• Serpents (bhujaṅga)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even what appears terrifying is, in Purāṇic vision, a symbol of the Goddess’s mastery over death and impurity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate verse is iconographic praise; the tīrtha is contextual to chapter 54 but not named here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; this is descriptive stuti (praise through attributes).