Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

तथापि सकलंकोऽयं कौतुकं कुरुते मम । देवि ब्रह्मांडसंघट्टमालामंडितशेखरः

Transliteration

tathāpi sakalaṃko'yaṃ kautukaṃ kurute mama | devi brahmāṃḍasaṃghaṭṭamālāmaṃḍitaśekharaḥ

Translation

എങ്കിലും ഈ കലങ്കാങ്കിതൻ എന്റെ മനസ്സിൽ അത്ഭുതം ഉണർത്തുന്നു—ഹേ ദേവീ! ബ്രഹ്മാണ്ഡങ്ങളുടെ സംഘട്ടത്തിൽ നിന്നുണ്ടായ മാലയാൽ അലങ്കരിക്കപ്പെട്ട ശിഖരമുള്ളവൻ.

Word by Word

• तथापि: nevertheless, even so
• तथापि: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय) + अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपवादसूचक (concessive: “even so/however”)

• सकल-अङ्कः: having a full mark/blemish
• सकल-अङ्कः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सकल (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (having a complete mark/blemish)

• अयम्: this (one)
• अयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• कौतुकम्: curiosity, wonder
• कौतुकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौतुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्मपद

• कुरुते: does, makes
• कुरुते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• मम: of me, my
• मम: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (genitive)

• देवि: O Goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• ब्रह्माण्ड-संघट्ट-माला-मण्डित-शेखरः: whose crest is adorned with a garland of brahmāṇḍa-clusters
• ब्रह्माण्ड-संघट्ट-माला-मण्डित-शेखरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्माण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + संघट्ट (प्रातिपदिक) + माला (प्रातिपदिक) + मण्डित (कृदन्त; √मण्ड्/मण्ड् ‘to adorn’) + शेखर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; बहुपद-समास; विशेषण (one whose crest is adorned with a garland formed by the collision/cluster of cosmic eggs)

Speaker

Śiva (addressing Devī; describing the Moon’s mark and cosmic ornamentation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Somnātha/Prabhāsa (Soma-kalaṅka sambandha)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vivid cosmic metaphor: Śiva’s crest adorned with a garland born of the ‘collision of cosmic spheres,’ while the speaker marvels at the Moon’s kalaṅka—cosmology meeting iconography.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Candra (Moon, implied)
• Brahmāṇḍa (cosmic spheres/eggs)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even what appears as a ‘blemish’ can be part of divine symbolism—cosmic phenomena invite contemplation rather than mere judgment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra provides the sacred narrative frame; this verse turns to lunar mystery within that māhātmya discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it introduces a mythic/theological curiosity about the Moon’s mark.