Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

नमो डमरुहस्ताय नमः कपालमालिने । स्मरदेहविनाशाय महेशाय नमोऽस्तु ते

Transliteration

namo ḍamaruhastāya namaḥ kapālamāline | smaradehavināśāya maheśāya namo'stu te

Translation

ڈمرُو ہاتھ میں رکھنے والے کو نمسکار، کھوپڑیوں کی مالا پہننے والے کو نمسکار۔ کام دیو کے جسم کو بھسم کرنے والے مہیش کو نمسکار ہو۔

Word by Word

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambandha (Salutation/नमस्कार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; नमस्कारार्थक

• ḍamaru-hastāya: to the one with a ḍamaru in hand
• ḍamaru-hastāya: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ḍamaru (प्रातिपदिक) + hasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘डमरुः हस्ते यस्य’

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambandha (Salutation/नमस्कार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; नमस्कारार्थक

• kapāla-māline: to the skull-garlanded one
• kapāla-māline: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapāla (प्रातिपदिक) + mālin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘कपाल-माला यस्य’

• smara-deha-vināśāya: to the destroyer of Smara’s body
• smara-deha-vināśāya: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: smara (प्रातिपदिक) + deha (प्रातिपदिक) + vināśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘स्मरस्य देहस्य विनाशः’

• maheśāya: to Mahēśa
• maheśāya: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maheśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambandha (Salutation/नमस्कार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; नमस्कारार्थक

• astu: let it be
• astu: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• te: to you
• te: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Andhaka (addressing Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mahādeva stands in a cremation-ground aura: ḍamaru raised, skull garland across his chest, third eye blazing; the ash of Kāma’s burnt body implied as a faint smoky trace; Andhaka bows in awe.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Kāma (Smara)
• Ḍamaru
• Kapāla (skulls)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva is praised as the Lord of ascetic power and inner mastery—He burns desire (Kāma) and frees beings from bondage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Revā Khaṇḍa exalts the Revā/Narmadā region; this verse is primarily theological, centered on Śiva’s forms.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse is a mantra-like salutation used in Śiva-stuti and pūjā.