Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

ततः सा सहसा भूत्वा तत्क्षणाद्भग्ननासिका । शीर्णकेशा बृहद्दंता चिपिटाक्षी महोदरा

Transliteration

tataḥ sā sahasā bhūtvā tatkṣaṇādbhagnanāsikā | śīrṇakeśā bṛhaddaṃtā cipiṭākṣī mahodarā

Translation

ทันใดนั้นเอง ในขณะนั้น นางก็กลายเป็นผู้มีจมูกหัก ผมยุ่งเหยิง ฟันใหญ่ ตาแบน และท้องพองโต

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb; अर्थे: 'तस्मात्/अनन्तरम्' (thereafter)

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (she)

• sahasā: suddenly
• sahasā: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasā (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = adverb; 'सहसा' (suddenly/at once)

• bhūtvā: having become
• bhūtvā: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपदी; 'भूत्वा' = having become

• tat-kṣaṇāt: from that very moment
• tat-kṣaṇāt: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaṇa (क्षण प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th case), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/निर्देश) = 'तत्क्षण' (that very moment) + ablative 'from'

• bhagna-nāsikā: with a broken nose
• bhagna-nāsikā: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhagna (भग्न कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + nāsikā (नासिका प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास = 'भग्ना नासिका यस्याः/या' (broken-nosed)

• śīrṇa-keśā: with ruined/dishevelled hair
• śīrṇa-keśā: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śīrṇa (शीर्ण कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + keśa (केश प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय = 'शीर्णाः केशाः यस्याः/या' (with dishevelled/decayed hair)

• bṛhad-dantā: large-toothed
• bṛhad-dantā: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bṛhat (बृहत् प्रातिपदिक) + danta (दन्त प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय = 'बृहन्तः दन्ताः यस्याः/या' (large-toothed)

• cipiṭa-akṣī: flat/sunken-eyed
• cipiṭa-akṣī: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cipiṭa (चिपिट प्रातिपदिक) + akṣi (अक्षि प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय = 'चिपिटे अक्षिणी यस्याः/या' (flat/sunken-eyed)

• mahā-udarā: big-bellied
• mahā-udarā: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (महा प्रातिपदिक) + udara (उदर प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय = 'महत् उदरं यस्याः/या' (big-bellied)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic speaker, contextually within Tīrthamāhātmya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An apsaras is suddenly transformed into a grotesque, disfigured form—broken nose, disheveled hair, protruding teeth, flattened eyes, swollen belly—capturing the shock of instantaneous divine consequence.

Characters & Entities

• Tilottamā
• Devī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Actions and intentions bear swift results; external beauty is unstable, while dharma and humility are enduring.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it serves the chapter’s larger mahātmya narrative arc.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates the immediate consequence of the divine pronouncement.