Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 16
क्वचिच्च राक्षसो घोरः पिशाचध्वांक्षगृध्रकः । एवं बहुविधाकारः स केतुः प्रत्यदृश्यत
kvacicca rākṣaso ghoraḥ piśācadhvāṃkṣagṛdhrakaḥ | evaṃ bahuvidhākāraḥ sa ketuḥ pratyadṛśyata
क्वचिद्घोरः स राक्षसः, क्वचिदपि पिशाचः ध्वाङ्क्षगृध्रकश्च; एवं बहुविधाकारः स केतुः पुनःपुनः प्रत्यदृश्यत।
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), narrating to the sages
Scene: The same banner is seen repeatedly transforming: now a ghastly rākṣasa, now a piśāca, then a crow, then a vulture—each apparition flashing across the cloth as if alive, unsettling the onlookers.
FAQs
Adharma is unstable and deceptive—its power is shown as shifting forms, meant to terrify rather than to uphold truth.
No specific tīrtha is praised in this verse; it is part of a martial narrative describing the asura host.
None; the verse is descriptive (battle-standard imagery), not prescriptive (vrata/dāna/snānā).