Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

शवयानरते रम्ये भुजंगाभरणान्विते । पाशहस्ते महाहस्ते रुधिरौघकृतास्पदे

Transliteration

śavayānarate ramye bhujaṃgābharaṇānvite | pāśahaste mahāhaste rudhiraughakṛtāspade

Translation

ಶವಯಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ರಮಿಸುವ ಸುಂದರಿಯೇ, ಭುಜಂಗಾಭರಣಗಳಿಂದ ಅಲಂಕೃತಳೇ। ಪಾಶಹಸ್ತೇ, ಮಹಾಹಸ್ತೇ—ರುಧಿರಪ್ರವಾಹಗಳ ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಆಸನಸ್ಥಾನವಿರುವವಳೇ॥

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).