Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

स वृषेंद्रगतिर्देवो भस्मोरग विभूषणः । महापितृवनावासो दिग्वासाः क्वास्ति संप्रति

Transliteration

sa vṛṣeṃdragatirdevo bhasmoraga vibhūṣaṇaḥ | mahāpitṛvanāvāso digvāsāḥ kvāsti saṃprati

Translation

ਉਹ ਦੇਵ, ਜਿਸ ਦੀ ਸਵਾਰੀ ਵ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਭ-ਇੰਦਰ ਹੈ, ਜੋ ਭਸਮ ਤੇ ਨਾਗਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਵਿਭੂਸ਼ਿਤ ਹੈ, ਮਹਾ ਪਿਤ੍ਰ-ਵਨ ਵਿੱਚ ਵੱਸਦਾ ਅਤੇ ਦਿਸ਼ਾਵਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਹੀ ਵਸਤ੍ਰ ਬਣਾਉਂਦਾ ਹੈ—ਉਹ ਹੁਣ ਕਿੱਥੇ ਹੈ?

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• वृषेन्द्रगतिः: one whose movement is like the lord of bulls (bull-like gait)
• वृषेन्द्रगतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषेन्द्र + गति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वृषेन्द्रस्य गतिः)

• देवः: the god
• देवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• भस्मोरगविभूषणः: he whose ornaments are ash and serpents
• भस्मोरगविभूषणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भस्म + उरग + विभूषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः (भस्म च उरगाश्च विभूषणं यस्य/भस्म-उरग-विभूषणः)

• महापितृवनावासः: dweller in the great Pitṛ-forest
• महापितृवनावासः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महā + पितृ + वन + आवास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः (महति पितृवने आवासः यस्य)

• दिग्वासाः: sky-clad (wearing the directions)
• दिग्वासाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिक् + वासस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः (दिशः वासः यस्य)

• क्व: where?
• क्व: Adverbial (देश/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्न-अव्ययम् (interrogative adverb)

• अस्ति: is
• अस्ति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), प्रथम-पुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• संप्रति: now, at present
• संप्रति: Adverbial (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: संप्रति (अव्यय)
• Form: काल-अव्ययम् (temporal adverb)

Speaker

Menā (continuing her address)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahāpitr̥vana (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A seeker questions Śiva’s whereabouts: the ash-smeared, serpent-adorned, sky-clad Lord with Nandin as mount, associated with the ancestral great forest of Kāśī; atmosphere of dusk and searching.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (implied)
• Bull (vṛṣa/Nandin)
• Serpents (uraga)
• Bhasma (sacred ash)
• Pitṛ-vana (great ancestral forest)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva is remembered as the ascetic Lord beyond convention—ash-clad, serpent-adorned, sky-robed—yet still the refuge sought in times of uncertainty.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is directly glorified; the verse alludes to Śiva’s dwelling places (notably a ‘Pitṛ-forest’ setting).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; bhasma is referenced iconographically rather than as a stated rite.