Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

महिषो दानवेन्द्रस्तु कल्पांतां भोदसन्निभः । अस्त्रं चकार सावित्रमुल्कासंघातमंडितम्

Transliteration

mahiṣo dānavendrastu kalpāṃtāṃ bhodasannibhaḥ | astraṃ cakāra sāvitramulkāsaṃghātamaṃḍitam

Translation

Ngunit si Mahiṣa, ang panginoon ng mga Dānava—nakapanghihilakbot na gaya ng apoy sa wakas ng kalpa—ay lumikha ng sandatang Sāvitra, na pinalamutian ng kumpol ng naglalagablab na bulalakaw.

Word by Word

• mahiṣaḥ: Mahiṣa (the buffalo-demon)
• mahiṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahiṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/कर्ता), एकवचन

• dānava-indraḥ: the lord of the Dānavas
• dānava-indraḥ: Karta (Appositional/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dānava (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: दानवेन्द्र (lord of Dānavas) षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; mahiṣaḥ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• kalpa-antām: like the end of an aeon
• kalpa-antām: Karma (Accusative of comparison/उपमान-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kalpa (प्रातिपदिक) + anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: कल्पान्त (end of an aeon) तत्पुरुष; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; उपमान-विशेषण (…सन्निभः)

• bhoda-sannibhaḥ: resembling bhoda (very formidable)
• bhoda-sannibhaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhoda (प्रातिपदिक) + sannibha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: भोदसन्निभ (resembling 'bhoda'—textual/rare term) तत्पुरुष; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; mahiṣaḥ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• astraṃ: a weapon/missile
• astraṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: astra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/कर्म), एकवचन

• cakāra: made/produced
• cakāra: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; √कृ (to make/perform)

• sāvitraṃ: Sāvitra (of Savitṛ/the Sun)
• sāvitraṃ: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sāvitra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; astraṃ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• ulkā-saṃghāta-maṇḍitam: adorned with a cluster of meteors
• ulkā-saṃghāta-maṇḍitam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ulkā (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃghāta (प्रातिपदिक) + maṇḍita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: उल्कासंघातमण्डित (adorned with a mass of meteors) तत्पुरुष; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; astraṃ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mahiṣa, towering and terrifying, conjures a radiant Sāvitra astra; the sky fills with a cluster of meteoric fireballs, like a shower of blazing ulkās, casting harsh light over the field.

Characters & Entities

• Mahiṣa
• Dānavas
• Sāvitra-astra
• Savitṛ

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas depict even destructive forces drawing on ‘solar’ power; power itself is neutral—its moral weight depends on the wielder’s dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None is mentioned; this is a mythic battle passage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.