Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 99

Devanagari script

अव्रणत्वं शरीरस्य कांतिश्चाथाष्टकं स्मृतम् । अष्टौ पूर्वा इमाश्चाष्टौ राक्षसानां पुरे स्मृताः

Transliteration

avraṇatvaṃ śarīrasya kāṃtiścāthāṣṭakaṃ smṛtam | aṣṭau pūrvā imāścāṣṭau rākṣasānāṃ pure smṛtāḥ

Translation

ശരീരത്തിൽ വ്രണമില്ലായ്മയും ദീപ്തമായ കാന്തിയും—ഇവ അഷ്ടകമായി സ്മരിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു. മുൻപുള്ള ആ എട്ടും ഈ എട്ടും—രാക്ഷസപുരിയിൽ സിദ്ധികളായി പ്രസിദ്ധം.

Word by Word

• अव्रणत्वम्: woundlessness, being without wounds
• अव्रणत्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अ-व्रणत्व (प्रातिपदिक; व्रण + त्व)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भाववाचक-नाम (त्व-प्रत्यय)

• शरीरस्य: of the body
• शरीरस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• कान्तिः: radiance, beauty
• कान्तिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कान्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

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

• अथ: then, moreover
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तर/आरम्भबोधक-अव्यय (particle: then/now)

• अष्टकम्: a set of eight (octad)
• अष्टकम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टक (प्रातिपदिक; अष्टन् + क)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; संख्यासमूहवाचक

• स्मृतम्: is said/remembered (as)
• स्मृतम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय (predicate)

• अष्टौ: eight
• अष्टौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टन् (प्रातिपदिक; संख्या)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (संख्याशब्द-प्रयोग), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• पूर्वाः: former, earlier
• पूर्वाः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifier of अष्टौ)

• इमाः: these
• इमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

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

• अष्टौ: eight
• अष्टौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टन् (प्रातिपदिक; संख्या)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (संख्याशब्द-प्रयोग), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• राक्षसानाम्: of the rākṣasas (demons)
• राक्षसानाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• पुरे: in the city
• पुरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• स्मृताः: are said/remembered
• स्मृताः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विधेय

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa framing)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rākṣasa-purī (mythic)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous, fortified otherworldly city where beings display invulnerability and radiant beauty; the verse reads like a register of boons attained there.

Characters & Entities

• Rākṣasāḥ

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text frames bodily wholeness and spiritual radiance as fruits of higher discipline, catalogued as classical attainments across different realms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named; a mythic/cosmological locale (“city of the Rākṣasas”) is referenced instead.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is descriptive, listing siddhis rather than prescribing a practice.