Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

कल्मषांघ्रिरिति ख्यातस्ततः प्रभृति पार्थिवः । बभूव गुरुशापेन राक्षसो वनगोचरः

Transliteration

kalmaṣāṃghririti khyātastataḥ prabhṛti pārthivaḥ | babhūva guruśāpena rākṣaso vanagocaraḥ

Translation

അന്നുമുതൽ ആ രാജാവ് ‘കൽമഷാംഘ്രി’ (കല്മഷിതപാദൻ) എന്ന പേരിൽ പ്രസിദ്ധനായി; ഗുരുശാപം മൂലം രാക്ഷസനായി വനങ്ങളിൽ അലഞ്ഞു നടന്നു।

Word by Word

• कल्मषाङ्घ्रिः: Kalmaṣāṅghri (defiled-footed)
• कल्मषाङ्घ्रिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्मष (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्घ्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कल्मषस्य अङ्घ्रिः) = one whose foot is defiled

• इति: thus (named)
• इति: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नामनिर्देश/उद्धरणसूचक (quotative)

• ख्यातः: was known
• ख्यातः: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ख्या (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle) विशेषण; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘ख्यातः’ = renowned/called

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-viseshana (Temporal adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (thereafter)

• प्रभृति: from then on
• प्रभृति: Kriya-viseshana (Temporal adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रभृति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आरम्भवाचक (from, starting from)

• पार्थिवः: the king
• पार्थिवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन

• बभूव: became
• बभूव: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• गुरुशापेन: by the teacher's curse
• गुरुशापेन: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक) + शाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/करण-हेतु), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (गुरोः शापः)

• राक्षसः: a demon
• राक्षसः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन

• वनगोचरः: forest-roaming
• वनगोचरः: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक) + गोचर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (वने गोचरः) = moving in the forest

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic recounting)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king’s feet appear dark/tainted; his royal bearing collapses into a rākṣasa-like silhouette. The guru’s curse is implied as a radiant, stern utterance; the king turns toward the forest path, now an outcast.

Characters & Entities

• Kalmaṣāṅghri (King)
• Vasiṣṭha
• Rākṣasa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma-impurity and conflict with the guru can overturn royal fortune; a king who fails in sacred responsibility may fall into bestiality and exile.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is praised; the verse is primarily etiological, explaining the king’s epithet and cursed condition.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it states the result of the guru’s curse and the king’s transformation.