Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

ऊर्ध्वकेशोऽतिकृष्णांगः प्रलयांबुदनिःस्वनः । कालदंडोद्यतकरो भुकुटी कुटिलाननः

Transliteration

ūrdhvakeśo'tikṛṣṇāṃgaḥ pralayāṃbudaniḥsvanaḥ | kāladaṃḍodyatakaro bhukuṭī kuṭilānanaḥ

Translation

నిలువుగా ఉన్న జుట్టు, అత్యంత నల్లని శరీరం, ప్రళయకాల మేఘాల వంటి గర్జన, చేతిలో కాలదండం ఎత్తిపట్టి, ముడివడిన కనుబొమ్మలతో భయంకరమైన ముఖం కలిగి ఉన్నాడు.

Word by Word

• ūrdhva-keśaḥ: having hair standing upright
• ūrdhva-keśaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ūrdhva (प्रातिपदिक) + keśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः (ऊर्ध्वाः केशाः यस्य)

• ati-kṛṣṇa-aṅgaḥ: with very black limbs
• ati-kṛṣṇa-aṅgaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati (अव्यय) + kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (अत्यन्तं कृष्णानि अङ्गानि यस्य)

• pralaya-ambuda-niḥsvanaḥ: roaring like the clouds at dissolution
• pralaya-ambuda-niḥsvanaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pralaya (प्रातिपदिक) + ambuda (प्रातिपदिक) + niḥsvana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (प्रलयाम्बुदस्य निःस्वन इव)

• kāla-daṇḍa-udyata-karaḥ: with hand raised holding the staff of Death
• kāla-daṇḍa-udyata-karaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + daṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + udyata (कृदन्त; √yam/यम्? here udyata from √yam 'to raise/hold up' as past participle) + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (कालदण्डं उद्यतः करः यस्य)

• bhukuṭī: a frown (knitted brow)
• bhukuṭī: Viśeṣaṇa (Appositional qualifier/विशेषणवत्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhukuṭī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नाम (frown/knitted brow)

• kuṭila-ānanaḥ: with a crooked face
• kuṭila-ānanaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kuṭila (प्रातिपदिक) + ānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः (कुटिलम् आननं यस्य)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A terrifying dark-limbed enforcer of Time stands with hair bristling upward, brows knotted, face twisted; he raises a staff/rod like a judge’s scepter, his roar echoing like doomsday thunder over a shadowed ghāṭ.

Characters & Entities

• Kāla (Time/Death)
• Daṇḍa (rod of punishment)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma is not merely social error but a cosmic disorder; Time itself becomes the instrument of retribution, urging a life aligned with dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader setting is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, though this verse itself focuses on the punitive messenger rather than a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is stated here; it functions as a moral-illustrative description supporting dharmic conduct.