Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

प्रासहस्ते दण्डहस्ते भीमहस्ते भयानने । चामुण्डे ज्वलमानास्ये तीक्ष्णदंष्ट्रे महाबले । शवयानस्थिते देवि प्रेतसंघनिषेविते

Transliteration

prāsahaste daṇḍahaste bhīmahaste bhayānane | cāmuṇḍe jvalamānāsye tīkṣṇadaṃṣṭre mahābale | śavayānasthite devi pretasaṃghaniṣevite

Translation

โอ้เทวี ผู้ถือตรีศูล/หอกในพระหัตถ์ ผู้ถือคทาในพระหัตถ์; ผู้มีพระหัตถ์น่าเกรงขาม ผู้มีพระพักตร์น่าสะพรึงกลัว โอ้จามุณฑา ผู้มีพระพักตร์ลุกโพลง ผู้มีเขี้ยวคม ผู้มีกำลังยิ่งใหญ่—โอ้เทวีผู้ประทับเหนือแคร่ศพ มีหมู่เปรตคอยแวดล้อมปรนนิบัติ!

Word by Word

• prāsa-haste: O spear-handed one
• prāsa-haste: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāsa (प्रातिपदिक) + hasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुष (spear + handed)

• daṇḍa-haste: O staff-handed one
• daṇḍa-haste: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + hasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुष (staff + handed)

• bhīma-haste: O terrible-handed one
• bhīma-haste: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhīma (प्रातिपदिक) + hasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय (terrible + handed)

• bhayānane: O fearsome-faced one
• bhayānane: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhayānana (प्रातिपदिक; bhaya + ānana)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय (fearsome + face)

• cāmuṇḍe: O Cāmuṇḍā
• cāmuṇḍe: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāmuṇḍā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• jvalamāna-āsye: O blazing-mouthed one
• jvalamāna-āsye: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jvalamāna (कृदन्त; शतृ from √jval) + āsya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय (blazing + mouth/face)

• tīkṣṇa-daṃṣṭre: O sharp-fanged one
• tīkṣṇa-daṃṣṭre: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīkṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + daṃṣṭrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय (sharp + fanged)

• mahābale: O great-strong one
• mahābale: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahābalā (प्रातिपदिक; mahā + bala)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय (great + strength)

• śava-yāna-sthite: O seated upon a corpse-vehicle
• śava-yāna-sthite: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śava (प्रातिपदिक) + yāna (प्रातिपदिक) + sthita (कृदन्त; क्त from √sthā)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुष (corpse + vehicle/seat + seated/standing)

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• preta-saṃgha-niṣevite: O attended by hosts of spirits
• preta-saṃgha-niṣevite: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: preta (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃgha (प्रातिपदिक) + niṣevita (कृदन्त; क्त from ni-√sev)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुष (ghosts + multitude + attended/served)

Speaker

Devas (collective hymn/praise within the narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Devī appears as Cāmuṇḍā/Mahākālī: blazing face, sharp fangs, powerful limbs holding spear and staff; she stands or sits upon a bier of corpses, surrounded by preta-gaṇas, while devas praise from a respectful distance.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Cāmuṇḍā
• Preta-saṃgha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse venerates the Goddess in her fierce, protective form—teaching that divine power also manifests as terrifying grace that destroys evil and safeguards dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra (Prabhāsa)—the sacred region being praised in the Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya of the Skanda Purana.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed in this verse; it functions as a stotra-style invocation describing the deity’s form.