Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3
Devanagari script
विद्युज्ज्वलनपिङ्गाक्षं भैरवं लोमहर्षणम् । महाजिह्वं महादंष्ट्रं महासर्पशिरोधरम्
Transliteration
vidyujjvalanapiṅgākṣaṃ bhairavaṃ lomaharṣaṇam | mahājihvaṃ mahādaṃṣṭraṃ mahāsarpaśirodharam
Translation
黄褐の眼は稲妻と火のごとく燃え—見れば身の毛もよだつバイラヴァ。大いなる舌と大いなる牙を備え、強大な蛇を頭上に戴いていた。
Word by Word
vidyut-jvalana-piṅgākṣamwhose tawny eyes blaze like lightning
vidyut-jvalana-piṅgākṣam:
Karma (Object/कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rootvidyut + jvalana + piṅga + akṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (yasya akṣe piṅge vidyut-jvalana-sadṛśe)
bhairavamthe Terrible one (Bhairava)
bhairavam:
Karma (Object/कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootbhairava (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (विशेष्यरूपे)
lomaharṣaṇamcausing horripilation
lomaharṣaṇam:
Karma (Object/कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rootloma + harṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (lomānāṃ harṣaṇam)
mahājihvamwith a huge tongue
mahājihvam:
Karma (Object/कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rootmahā + jihvā (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन
mahādaṃṣṭramwith huge fangs
mahādaṃṣṭram:
Karma (Object/कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rootmahā + daṃṣṭrā (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन
mahāsarpaśirodharambearing a great serpent on the head
mahāsarpaśirodharam:
Karma (Object/कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rootmahā + sarpa + śiras + dhara (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (yasya śiro dhāryate mahāsarpaḥ / yasya śirasi mahāsarpaḥ)
Speaker
Mārkaṇḍeya (continuing narration)
Visual Art Cues
Scene: Bhairava stands or looms with lightning-flame eyes, a great tongue and fangs, crowned with coiling serpents; the air bristles, devotees shiver in awe.
Characters & Entities
B
Bhairava (Śiva)FAQs
Bhairava imagery teaches reverence for divine justice and transformative fear that turns the mind from sin toward dharma.
No specific site is named in this verse.
None explicitly; the verse serves as a meditative description of the deity’s form.