Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

निश्चक्राम ततो भस्म हिमस्फटिकसंनिभम् । क्षताग्रात्सहसा तस्य महाविस्मयकारकम्

Transliteration

niścakrāma tato bhasma himasphaṭikasaṃnibham | kṣatāgrātsahasā tasya mahāvismayakārakam

Translation

பின்னர் அவன் காயத்தின்/சின்னத்தின் நுனியிலிருந்து திடீரென பனிக்கரிஸ்டல் போன்ற வெண்மையான பஸ்மம் வெளிப்பட்டது; அது பெரும் வியப்பை உண்டாக்கியது।

Word by Word

• niścakrāma: came out/emerged
• niścakrāma: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nis-kram (धातु)
• Form: Liṭ-lakāra (लिट्, Perfect), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd/प्रथम), Singular (एकवचन)

• tataḥ: then/from thereupon
• tataḥ: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण) of sequence

• bhasma: ash
• bhasma: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhasman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• himasphaṭikasaṃnibham: like ice/crystal
• himasphaṭikasaṃnibham: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hima (प्रातिपदिक) + sphaṭika (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃnibha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (कर्मधारय/षष्ठी sense: ‘hima-sphaṭika-sadṛśa’), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); agrees with bhasma

• kṣatāgrāt: from the tip of the wound/cut
• kṣatāgrāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣata (प्रातिपदिक) + agra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी/कर्मधारय sense: ‘kṣatasya agra’), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• sahasā: suddenly
• sahasā: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• tasya: of him/of that
• tasya: Śeṣa (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Masculine/Neuter, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• mahāvismayakārakam: causing great astonishment
• mahāvismayakārakam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + vismaya (प्रातिपदिक) + kāraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (कर्मधारय: ‘mahān vismayaḥ yasya/kārakam’), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); agrees with bhasma (or event)

Speaker

Narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Purāṇic audience; immediate astonished witness in-scene

Visual Art Cues

Scene: From the thumb-tip’s mark there bursts forth a stream/puff of ash, dazzling white like icy crystal; onlookers recoil in awe as the air fills with shimmering vibhūti.

Characters & Entities

• bhasma (sacred ash)
• Śiva (implied)
• viprendra (implied witness)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Bhasma, emblematic of renunciation and truth, is shown as a divine sign that eclipses lesser marvels and points toward higher dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not directly named in this verse; it remains part of the chapter’s tīrtha narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; the verse narrates the manifestation of ash (bhasma), central to Śaiva practice.