Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

कपालमालाभरणश्चिताभस्म बिभर्ति यः । अपवित्रतया शंभुर्नाहूतस्तु तथाविधः

Transliteration

kapālamālābharaṇaścitābhasma bibharti yaḥ | apavitratayā śaṃbhurnāhūtastu tathāvidhaḥ

Translation

കപാലമാല ധരിച്ച് ചിതാഭസ്മം വഹിക്കുന്ന ശംഭുവിനെ ‘അപവിത്രൻ’ എന്നു കരുതി, ആ രൂപത്തിൽ തന്നെ ക്ഷണിച്ചില്ല.

Word by Word

• कपाल-माला-भरणः: wearer of a garland of skulls
• कपाल-माला-भरणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपाल (प्रातिपदिक) + माला (प्रातिपदिक) + भरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; 'कपालानां माला' इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष, ततः 'कपालमाला-भरणः' (one who wears skull-garland)

• चिताभस्म: ashes from a funeral pyre
• चिताभस्म: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चिताभस्मन् (प्रातिपदिक; चिता + भस्मन्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मपद (object)

• बिभर्ति: bears/wears
• बिभर्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-यत् (relative pronoun)

• अपवित्रतया: due to impurity
• अपवित्रतया: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अपवित्रता (प्रातिपदिक; अप + पवित्र + ता)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; हेतौ/कारणे (by reason of)

• शम्भुः: Śambhu (Śiva)
• शम्भुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शम्भु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (linker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• आहूतः: invited/called
• आहूतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आहूत (कृदन्त; आ-√ह्वे (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle)

• तु: but
• तु: Sambandha (linker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषार्थक (particle: 'but/indeed')

• तथा-विधः: such (of that kind)
• तथा-विधः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तथा (अव्यय) + विध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying शम्भुः)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śambhu stands in fierce ascetic splendor—skull-garlanded, smeared with cremation ash—while a formal assembly hesitates and excludes him, revealing the tension between social purity codes and divine transcendence.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Śambhu)
• Kapālamālā
• Citābhasma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

External notions of purity can misjudge the Supreme; Śiva’s cremation-ground emblems signify transcendence beyond social and ritual categories.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya’s broader glorification, using theological contrast to heighten reverence for Śiva and sacred places.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No prescription; it narrates an exclusion based on perceived impurity, setting up a dharmic/theological point.