Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

हुंकृतेन ततो धेन्वाः खड्गपाशासिपाणयः । निर्गच्छन्तः प्रदृश्यन्ते कल्मषायाः सहस्रशः

Transliteration

huṃkṛtena tato dhenvāḥ khaḍgapāśāsipāṇayaḥ | nirgacchantaḥ pradṛśyante kalmaṣāyāḥ sahasraśaḥ

Translation

அப்போது பசுவின் இடிமுழக்கமான ‘ஹும்’ என்ற ஒலியால், கைகளில் வாள், பாசம், அசி ஏந்திய கல்மஷாவின் ஆயிரக்கணக்கான படைகள் வெளிப்பட்டு தோன்றின.

Word by Word

• हुंकृतेन: by the ‘hum’ sound/utterance
• हुंकृतेन: Karana (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हुंकृत (प्रातिपदिक: हुं + कृत)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; ‘हुंकृत’ = हुं-शब्दकृतं नादः (the utterance ‘hum’)

• ततः: then/thereupon
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: thereafter/from there)

• धेन्वाः: of the cow
• धेन्वाः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhenu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• खड्गपाशासिपाणयः: those whose hands held swords, nooses and blades
• खड्गपाशासिपाणयः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: खड्ग + पाश + असि + पाणि (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—‘खड्ग-पाश-असि-पाणयः’ = येषां पाणयः खड्गपाशासयः (whose hands bear swords, nooses, and blades)

• निर्गच्छन्तः: coming out
• निर्गच्छन्तः: Karta (Agent; participial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nir + gam (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• प्रदृश्यन्ते: are seen/appear
• प्रदृश्यन्ते: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद (passive/medio-passive sense: are seen/appear)

• कल्मषायाः: of Kalmaṣā
• कल्मषायाः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalmaṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• सहस्रशः: by thousands
• सहस्रशः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasraśas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (distributive adverb: by thousands)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; specific speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-khaṇḍa āśrama-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the cow’s thunderous ‘huṃ’ cry, a hidden army erupts into visibility—warriors brandishing swords and nooses, as if summoned from the air around the hermitage.

Characters & Entities

• Dhenū (cow)
• Kalmaṣā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is portrayed as self-protecting: when violated, protective forces arise, often through seemingly ordinary beings like a cow.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader setting is the Revā (Narmadā) sacred region, but this verse itself does not name a specific tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is a narrative description of a supernatural emergence.