Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

दक्ष उवाच । अस्थिमालाधरो नग्नः संहर्ता तामसो हरः । विषकंठः शूलहस्तः कपाली नागवेष्टितः

Transliteration

dakṣa uvāca | asthimālādharo nagnaḥ saṃhartā tāmaso haraḥ | viṣakaṃṭhaḥ śūlahastaḥ kapālī nāgaveṣṭitaḥ

Translation

ദക്ഷൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹരൻ അസ്ഥിമാലാധാരി, നഗ്നൻ, സംഹാരകൻ, താമസസ്വഭാവൻ; വിഷകണ്ഠൻ, ശൂലഹസ്തൻ, കപാലി, നാഗവേഷ്ടിതൻ.

Word by Word

• दक्षः: Dakṣa
• दक्षः: Karta (Speaker/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु √वच्; लिट्-रूप)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• अस्थिमालाधरः: wearer of a garland of bones
• अस्थिमालाधरः: Samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate/apposition to हरः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्थि + माला + धर (प्रातिपदिक-समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (अस्थीनां माला यस्य/अस्थिमालां धरति इति)

• नग्नः: naked
• नग्नः: Samānādhikaraṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नग्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (हरः)

• संहर्ता: destroyer
• संहर्ता: Samānādhikaraṇa
• Type: Noun
• Root: सं-हर्तृ (प्रातिपदिक; √हृ धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तृवाचक-नाम

• तामसः: tamasic, of darkness
• तामसः: Samānādhikaraṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तामस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (हरः)

• हरः: Hara (Śiva)
• हरः: Karta (Subject/predicate base)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• विषकण्ठः: poison-throated
• विषकण्ठः: Samānādhikaraṇa
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष + कण्ठ (प्रातिपदिक-समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (विषः कण्ठे यस्य/विषयुक्तः कण्ठः)

• शूलहस्तः: having a trident in hand
• शूलहस्तः: Samānādhikaraṇa
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूल + हस्त (प्रातिपदिक-समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (शूलं हस्ते यस्य)

• कपाली: skull-bearer
• कपाली: Samānādhikaraṇa
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपालिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; 'कपाल'धारी

• नागवेष्टितः: wrapped with serpents
• नागवेष्टितः: Samānādhikaraṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नाग + वेष्टित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √वेष्ट् धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (नागैः वेष्टितः)

Speaker

Dakṣa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (assembly; implicitly Dadhīci and sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Dakṣa speaks with suspicion/critique, describing Hara’s terrifying ascetic iconography—bone garland, nakedness, skull-bowl, trident, serpents—framed as a rhetorical challenge to recognize divinity.

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣa
• Hara
• Nīlakaṇṭha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

External ascetic signs can be misread; criticizing the divine based on appearance reflects ignorance rather than discernment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Vastrāpathakṣetra Māhātmya (Prabhāsa) uses this dispute to underscore the right understanding of Śiva in the sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; this is a polemical description used to deny Śiva’s fitness for yajña honors.