Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

शुष्कोदरी ललज्जिह्वा श्वदंष्ट्रा वानरानना । ऋक्षाक्षी केकराक्षी च बृहत्तुंडा सुराप्रिया

Transliteration

śuṣkodarī lalajjihvā śvadaṃṣṭrā vānarānanā | ṛkṣākṣī kekarākṣī ca bṛhattuṃḍā surāpriyā

Translation

ശുഷ്കോദരീ, ലലജ്ജിഹ്വാ, ശ്വദംഷ്ട്രാ, വാനരാനനാ; ഋക്ഷാക്ഷീ, കേകരാക്ഷീ, ബൃഹത്തുണ്ടാ കൂടാതെ സുരാപ്രിയാ—ഇവയും യോഗിനികളുടെ നാമങ്ങളാണ്.

Word by Word

• शुष्क-उदरी: dry-bellied
• शुष्क-उदरी: Karta (Appositional subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुष्क (प्रातिपदिक) + उदरिन्/उदर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (‘शुष्क-उदरं यस्याः सा’), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ललत्-जिह्वा: lolling-tongued
• ललत्-जिह्वा: Karta (Appositional subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ललत् (प्रातिपदिक) + जिह्वा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (‘ललज्जिह्वा/ललत्-जिह्वा यस्याः सा’), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• श्व-दम्‌ष्ट्रा: dog-fanged
• श्व-दम्‌ष्ट्रा: Karta (Appositional subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वन्/श्व (प्रातिपदिक) + दंष्ट्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (‘श्व-दम्‌ष्ट्रा यस्याः सा’), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• वानर-आनना: monkey-faced
• वानर-आनना: Karta (Appositional subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वानर (प्रातिपदिक) + आनन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (‘वानर-आननं यस्याः सा’), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ऋक्ष-अक्षी: bear-eyed
• ऋक्ष-अक्षी: Karta (Appositional subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + अक्षि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (‘ऋक्ष-अक्षिणी यस्याः सा’), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• केकर-अक्षी: squint-eyed
• केकर-अक्षी: Karta (Appositional subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केकर (प्रातिपदिक) + अक्षि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (‘केकर-अक्षिणी यस्याः सा’), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; केकर = विकृत/तिर्यग्दृष्टि (squinting)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• बृहत्-तुण्डा: large-beaked
• बृहत्-तुण्डा: Karta (Appositional subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बृहत् (प्रातिपदिक) + तुण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (‘बृहत्-तुण्डं यस्याः सा’), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सुरा-प्रिया: fond of liquor
• सुरा-प्रिया: Karta (Appositional subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुरा (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (‘सुरा प्रिया यस्याः सा’), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Vyāsa

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The litany continues with stark, animal-featured Yoginīs: dry-bellied, long-tongued, dog-fanged, monkey-faced; bear-eyed, ‘kekara’-eyed, big-beaked, and wine-loving—evoking a fierce protective retinue.

Characters & Entities

• Yoginīs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even fierce or liminal divine forms are integrated into sacred dharma through nāma—invoked for protection and purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the overarching sacred context for the Yoginī-nāma tradition presented in this chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not detailed here; the practical takeaway remains nāma-śravaṇa/recitation, praised earlier as sin-destroying.