Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

कबंधनृत्यसंकुले स्रवद्वसास्थिकर्द्दमे । रणाजिरे निशाचरास्ततो विचेरुरूर्जिताः

Transliteration

kabaṃdhanṛtyasaṃkule sravadvasāsthikarddame | raṇājire niśācarāstato vicerurūrjitāḥ

Translation

ആ യുദ്ധഭൂമിയിൽ—ശിരസ്സില്ലാ കബന്ധങ്ങളുടെ ‘നൃത്ത’ക്കൂട്ടം നിറഞ്ഞും, ഒഴുകുന്ന മേദസ്സും അസ്ഥികളും കലർന്ന ചെളിയിൽ മൂടപ്പെട്ടും—അപ്പോൾ ശക്തരായ നിശാചരർ ഇങ്ങും അങ്ങും സഞ്ചരിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• कबन्धनृत्यसंकुले: in (a place) crowded with the dance of headless trunks
• कबन्धनृत्यसंकुले: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कबन्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + नृत्य (प्रातिपदिक) + संकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (determinative; ‘कबन्धानां नृत्येन संकुलः’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘रणाजिरे’ इत्यस्य विशेषण (स्थलवर्णन)

• स्रवत्: oozing, flowing
• स्रवत्: Adhikaraṇa (Location-qualifier/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्रु (धातु)
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘…कर्द्दमे’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• वसा: fat
• वसा: N/A (Compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासपूर्वपद (compound member)

• अस्थि: bone
• अस्थि: N/A (Compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्थि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासपूर्वपद (compound member)

• कर्द्दमे: in the mire of fat and bones
• कर्द्दमे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्दम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (determinative; ‘वसा-अस्थि-कर्दमः’); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• रणाजिरे: in the battlefield
• रणाजिरे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रण (प्रातिपदिक) + अजिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (determinative; ‘रणस्य अजिरम्’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• निशाचराः: night-roamers (demons)
• निशाचराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निशा (प्रातिपदिक) + चर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (determinative; ‘निशायां चरन्ति’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तर (temporal adverb)

• विचेरुः: wandered about
• विचेरुः: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + चर् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• ऊर्जिताः: mighty, powerful
• ऊर्जिताः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ऊर्जित (प्रातिपदिक; ऊर्ज्/ऊर्जय्-सम्बद्ध)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; ‘निशाचराः’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

Speaker

Deductive (Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya narrative voice; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ghastly battlefield: headless torsos seeming to ‘dance’, the ground slick with fat and bone-mire; rākṣasas moving among corpses under a darkened sky.

Characters & Entities

• Niśācaras (night-roamers)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text underscores the grim consequences of adharma and violence, heightening reverence for divine protection and right conduct.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, as the wider Māhātmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a descriptive passage of the battlefield atmosphere.