Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 84

Devanagari script

नरमांसवसामत्तं विद्युन्मालिनमाहवे । चूर्णितो मुष्टिपातेन सोऽपतद्वसुधातले

Transliteration

naramāṃsavasāmattaṃ vidyunmālinamāhave | cūrṇito muṣṭipātena so'patadvasudhātale

Translation

യുദ്ധത്തിൽ നരമാംസവും വസയുംകൊണ്ട് മത്തനായ വിദ്യുന്മാലി ഒരു മুষ্টിഘാതംകൊണ്ട് ചൂർണ്ണിതനായി ഭൂമിതലത്തിൽ വീണു।

Word by Word

• नरमांसवसामत्तम्: intoxicated with human flesh and fat
• नरमांसवसामत्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक) + मांस (प्रातिपदिक) + वसा (प्रातिपदिक) + मत्त (कृदन्त; √मद् धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; कृदन्त-भूतकृदन्त (क्त), विशेषणरूपेण

• विद्युन्मालिनम्: the Vidyunmālin (a named being)
• विद्युन्मालिनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विद्युत् (प्रातिपदिक) + मालिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• आहवे: in battle
• आहवे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आहव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• चूर्णितः: was crushed/pulverized
• चूर्णितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चूर्णित (कृदन्त; √चूर्ण्/√चूर्णय् धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कृदन्त-भूतकृदन्त (क्त), विशेषण/विधेय

• मुष्टिपातेन: by a blow of the fist
• मुष्टिपातेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुष्टि (प्रातिपदिक) + पात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

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

• अपतत्: fell
• अपतत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पत् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• वसुधातले: on the surface of the earth
• वसुधातले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसुधा (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly framed as Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ferocious battlefield moment: the cannibalistic Vidyunmālin, garlanded with lightning-like ornaments, is shattered by a single fist-blow; fragments and dust fall as he crashes to earth.

Characters & Entities

• Vidyunmālin

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unrestrained adharma and cruelty culminate in swift downfall; divine-ordained justice prevails even amid worldly conflict.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader frame is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, though this particular verse focuses on a battle episode rather than naming a specific tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is purely narrative.