Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 82

Devanagari script

क्व पांसुलपटच्छन्नो महाशंखविभूषणः । प्रबद्धसर्पकेयूरः प्रलंबित जटासटः

Transliteration

kva pāṃsulapaṭacchanno mahāśaṃkhavibhūṣaṇaḥ | prabaddhasarpakeyūraḥ pralaṃbita jaṭāsaṭaḥ

Translation

പൊടിപിടിച്ച വസ്ത്രംകൊണ്ട് മൂടപ്പെട്ടവൻ, മഹാശംഖാഭരണങ്ങളാൽ അലങ്കൃതൻ, ബന്ധിച്ച സർപ്പങ്ങളുടെ കേയൂരങ്ങൾ ധരിച്ചവൻ, ഭാരമായി തൂങ്ങുന്ന ജടാസമൂഹമുള്ളവൻ—അവൻ എവിടെ?

Word by Word

• kva: where
• kva: Sambandha (Discourse/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: where)

• pāṃsula-paṭa-channaḥ: covered with a dusty cloth
• pāṃsula-paṭa-channaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāṃsula (प्रातिपदिक) + paṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + channa (√chad धातु + kta)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (पांसुलेन पटेन छन्नः / पांसुलपटच्छन्नः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• mahā-śaṃkha-vibhūṣaṇaḥ: adorned with a great conch
• mahā-śaṃkha-vibhūṣaṇaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + śaṃkha (प्रातिपदिक) + vibhūṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (महाशंखेन विभूषणः / having great conch as ornament); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• prabaddha-sarpa-keyūraḥ: having armlets of bound serpents
• prabaddha-sarpa-keyūraḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prabaddha (√bandh धातु + kta) + sarpa (प्रातिपदिक) + keyūra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (प्रबद्धसर्पं केयूरं यस्य); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• pralaṃbita-jaṭā-saṭaḥ: with long-hanging matted locks
• pralaṃbita-jaṭā-saṭaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pralaṃbita (√lamb धातु + kta) + jaṭā (प्रातिपदिक) + saṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (प्रलंबिता जटासटा यस्य); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

A householder/elder (contextual; describing Śiva’s ascetic iconography)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vivid ‘where is He?’ search-vision: Śiva in dusty cloth, massive conch-like ornaments, serpent armlets, and long hanging jaṭā—seen as if glimpsed in a narrow Kāśī lane near a shrine.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (ascetic form)
• Serpents (Nāga imagery)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva’s ascetic outer form—simple, even fearsome—conceals supreme auspiciousness and divinity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is the overarching sacred geography of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa passage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is descriptive, emphasizing divine iconography and theological meaning.