Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

दशग्रीवाभिधः सोऽभूत्तथा रावण नामवान् । रावणानंतरं जातः कुम्भकर्णाभिधः सुतः

Transliteration

daśagrīvābhidhaḥ so'bhūttathā rāvaṇa nāmavān | rāvaṇānaṃtaraṃ jātaḥ kumbhakarṇābhidhaḥ sutaḥ

Translation

അവൻ ദശഗ്രീവൻ എന്ന പേരിൽ അറിയപ്പെട്ടു; രാവണൻ എന്ന നാമത്താലും പ്രസിദ്ധനായി. രാവണനുശേഷം കുംഭകർണ്ണൻ എന്ന പുത്രൻ ജനിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• daśagrīvābhidhaḥ: named Daśagrīva
• daśagrīvābhidhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśa + grīva (प्रातिपदिक) + abhidhā (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; ‘-ābhidhaḥ’ = ‘अभिधः/अभिधेयः’ इत्यर्थे विशेषणम् (having the name)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• abhūt: became/was
• abhūt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• tathā: thus/also
• tathā: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• rāvaṇaḥ: Rāvaṇa
• rāvaṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• nāmavān: having that name
• nāmavān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nāmavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (possessing the name)

• rāvaṇānantaram: after Rāvaṇa
• rāvaṇānantaram: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: rāvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + anantara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (adverbial: after Rāvaṇa)

• jātaḥ: was born
• jātaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु) + ta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगः (born)

• kumbhakarṇābhidhaḥ: named Kumbhakarṇa
• kumbhakarṇābhidhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kumbha + karṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + abhidhā (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘-ābhidhaḥ’ = named

• sutaḥ: son
• sutaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: suta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator within Setukhaṇḍa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setu/Rāmeśvara (contextual frame)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijāḥ / dvijottamāḥ (addressed in the passage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A courtly genealogical tableau: Viśravas’ household; the newborns symbolically marked—Daśagrīva with ten-headed aura, Kumbhakarṇa massive and somnolent—set against a distant silhouette of Laṅkā and the sea-route toward Setu.

Characters & Entities

• Daśagrīva
• Rāvaṇa
• Kumbhakarṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas preserve sacred history and genealogy to illuminate how dharma and adharma unfold through lineages.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setu/Rāmeśvaram in the larger chapter; this verse is genealogical background.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.