Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

हुंकारिता विशालाक्षी पीनोरुजघनस्थला । तत्क्षणाच्चाभवद्रौद्रा कालरात्रीव भारत

Transliteration

huṃkāritā viśālākṣī pīnorujaghanasthalā | tatkṣaṇāccābhavadraudrā kālarātrīva bhārata

Translation

‘ഹുംകാര’മേറ്റ ആ വിശാലാക്ഷി ദേവി—പുഷ്ടമായ ഊരുകളും വിശാല നിതംബവും ഉള്ളവൾ—അന്നേ ക്ഷണത്തിൽ രൗദ്രയായി, ഹേ ഭാരത; കാലരാത്രിയെപ്പോലെ.

Word by Word

• हुङ्कारिता: (she) who was made to roar/was roared at
• हुङ्कारिता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हुङ्कार (प्रातिपदिक) + कृ (धातु) → हुंकारित (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP) ‘हुङ्कारित’ = हुंकारेण कृत/प्रभाविता

• विशालाक्षी: the wide-eyed one
• विशालाक्षी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशाल + अक्षि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि: विशालानि अक्षी यस्याः

• पीनोरुजघनस्थला: she with full thighs and hips/haunches
• पीनोरुजघनस्थला: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पीन + ऊरु + जघन + स्थल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि: पीनौ ऊरू जघनं च स्थलम् च यस्याः (समाहार-लक्षण)

• तत्क्षणात्: from that very moment
• तत्क्षणात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत् + क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: तस्मिन् क्षणे/ततः क्षणात्

• च: and
• च: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• अभवत्: became
• अभवत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• रौद्रा: fierce/terrible
• रौद्रा: Karta-predicative (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रौद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• कालरात्री: Kālarātrī (Night of Time)
• कालरात्री: Upamāna (Standard of comparison)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल + रात्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय: कालरूपा रात्री

• इव: like
• इव: Upamā-marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमा-सूचक (comparative particle)

• भारत: O Bhārata
• भारत: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (addressing ‘Bhārata’)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīra (contextual)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhārata

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Maheśvarī, struck by huṃkāra, instantly shifts into a Kālarātrī-like form—eyes blazing, posture widened, aura dark and fiery—while the horizon trembles.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Kālarātrī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Goddess contains both tenderness and terror; when cosmic balance demands, she manifests as time’s night—Kālarātrī.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is directly praised in this line; it is part of the Revā Khaṇḍa’s larger sacred narrative frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.