Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

कपाली कान्थिको भूत्वा यथा स व्यचरन्महीम् । पिशाचैर्राक्षसैर्भूतैर्डाकिनीयोगिनीवृतः

Transliteration

kapālī kānthiko bhūtvā yathā sa vyacaranmahīm | piśācairrākṣasairbhūtairḍākinīyoginīvṛtaḥ

Translation

അവൻ കപാലിയും കാന്തികനും ആയി ഭൂമിയിൽ എങ്ങനെ സഞ്ചരിച്ചു—പിശാചുകൾ, രാക്ഷസർ, ഭൂതങ്ങൾ എന്നിവാൽ ചുറ്റപ്പെട്ടും ഡാകിനികളും യോഗിനികളും അനുഗമിച്ചും।

Word by Word

• कपाली: Kapālī (skull-bearer)
• कपाली: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपालिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• कान्थिकः: Kānthika (name/epithet)
• कान्थिकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कान्थिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्ययभाव; पूर्वकालिक-क्रिया

• यथा: as, how
• यथा: Avyaya (Connector/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/प्रकारवाचक (as/how)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• व्यचरन्: wandered
• व्यचरन्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; उपसर्गः—वि; परस्मैपद

• महीम्: the earth
• महीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• पिशाचैः: with piśācas
• पिशाचैः: Sahakari (Association/सहकारि)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिशाच (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• राक्षसैः: with rākṣasas
• राक्षसैः: Sahakari (Association/सहकारि)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• भूतैः: with spirits/beings
• भूतैः: Sahakari (Association/सहकारि)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• डाकिनीयोगिनीवृतः: surrounded by ḍākinīs and yoginīs
• डाकिनीयोगिनीवृतः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: डाकिनी + योगिनी + वृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle) वृत = ‘surrounded’; समासः—तत्पुरुष (डाकिनी-योगिनीभिः वृतः)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapālī/Kānthika-līlā-sthala (within Revā-khaṇḍa narrative)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (राजेन्द्र)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Deva roams the earth as Kapālī and Kānthika, surrounded by a wild procession: piśācas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, and attendant ḍākinīs and yoginīs—nighttime, cremation-ground aura, yet divinely ordered.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Kapālī)
• Kānthika
• Piśāca
• Rākṣasa
• Bhūta
• Ḍākinī
• Yoginī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord transcends social norms and appearances; His ascetic and fearsome forms teach detachment and the supremacy of divine will over convention.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse sets the narrative background for the later naming of a Śiva-sthāna (Kantheśvara) within the Revā Khaṇḍa region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is a descriptive passage establishing the deity’s form and entourage.