Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

महासुरशिरोमालं महाप्रलयकारणम् । ग्रसत्समुद्रनिहितवातवारिमयं हविः

Transliteration

mahāsuraśiromālaṃ mahāpralayakāraṇam | grasatsamudranihitavātavārimayaṃ haviḥ

Translation

അവൻ മഹാസുരന്മാരുടെ ശിരോമാലയാൽ അലങ്കൃതൻ, മഹാപ്രളയകാരണം; സമുദ്രത്തിൽ നിക്ഷിപ്തമായ വായുവും ജലവും ആയ ഹവിയെപ്പോലെയും അവൻ ഗ്രസിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• mahāsuraśiromālam: a garland of the heads of great demons
• mahāsuraśiromālam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + asura + śiras + mālā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (mahāsurāṇāṃ śirāṃsi-mālā)

• mahāpralayakāraṇam: the cause of the great dissolution
• mahāpralayakāraṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + pralaya + kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (mahāpralayasya kāraṇam)

• grasat: devouring
• grasat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gras (ग्रस् धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ (Present active participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (विशेषणरूपे)

• samudra-nihita: placed in the ocean
• samudra-nihita: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samudra + nihita (धा धातु/नि+धा क्त)
• Form: भूतकाले क्त (Past participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (samudre nihitam)

• vāta-vārimayam: made of wind and water
• vāta-vārimayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāta + vāri + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (vāta-vāri-mayam = made of wind and water)

• haviḥ: oblation
• haviḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: havis (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (continuing narration)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Bhairava, wreathed in a garland of asura heads, stands amid a churning ocean; winds and waters rise like offerings into his gaping mouth as the cosmos tilts toward dissolution, framed as a yajña.

Characters & Entities

• Asuras
• Ocean (Samudra)
• Pralaya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord is the ultimate power over time and dissolution; even the elements become His offering in the cosmic rite.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tirtha is mentioned; the focus is cosmic pralaya symbolism.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No human ritual is prescribed; the verse uses yajña language (haviḥ) to portray cosmic absorption.