Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 79

Devanagari script

क्वचिच्च चर्मवसनं क्वचिद्भिक्षाटनप्रियम् । विटंकभूतानुचरं स्थाणुमुग्रं तमोगुणम्

Transliteration

kvacicca carmavasanaṃ kvacidbhikṣāṭanapriyam | viṭaṃkabhūtānucaraṃ sthāṇumugraṃ tamoguṇam

Translation

ചിലപ്പോൾ ചർമവസ്ത്രധാരി, ചിലപ്പോൾ ഭിക്ഷാടനം പ്രിയൻ; വിചിത്ര ഭൂതഗണങ്ങളുടെ അനുചരനായി—സ്ഥാണു, ഉഗ്രൻ, അജ്ഞർക്കു തമോഗുണമയനായി തോന്നുന്നവൻ—അവനെ ഞാൻ തിരിച്ചറിഞ്ഞില്ല।

Word by Word

• क्वचित्: sometimes
• क्वचित्: Adverbial (Time/Place)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/देश-अव्यय (adverb)

• च: and
• च: Connector (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• चर्मवसनम्: clad in skin
• चर्मवसनम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चर्म + वसन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (चर्म वसनं यस्य)

• क्वचित्: sometimes
• क्वचित्: Adverbial (Time/Place)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/देश-अव्यय (adverb)

• भिक्षाटनप्रियम्: fond of begging/wandering for alms
• भिक्षाटनप्रियम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भिक्षाटन + प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (भिक्षाटनं प्रियं यस्य)

• विटंकभूतानुचरम्: attended by goblins/spirits (viṭaṅka-bhūtas)
• विटंकभूतानुचरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विटंक + भूत + अनुचर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (विटंकभूतानाम् अनुचरः)

• स्थाणुम्: Sthāṇu (Śiva)
• स्थाणुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थाणु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• उग्रम्: fierce
• उग्रम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तमोगुणम्: of the quality of tamas (darkness)
• तमोगुणम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तमस् + गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (तमसः गुणः/तमोगुणयुक्तः)

Speaker

Dakṣa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva alternates between wearing animal skins and wandering as a mendicant; uncanny attendants (bhūtas/gaṇas) cluster around; he stands immovable and fierce, misunderstood as tamasic.

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣa
• Śiva (Sthāṇu)
• Bhūtas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly judgment misreads the ascetic Lord; what seems ‘tamasic’ can be the transcendence that stands beyond social norms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None explicitly; the verse is part of the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s Śiva-centered narration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes Śiva’s bhikṣāṭana/ascetic mode.