Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

कल्मषांघ्रिरिति ख्यातस्ततः प्रभृति पार्थिवः । बभूव गुरुशापेन राक्षसो वनगोचरः

Transliteration

kalmaṣāṃghririti khyātastataḥ prabhṛti pārthivaḥ | babhūva guruśāpena rākṣaso vanagocaraḥ

Translation

اسی وقت سے وہ راجا ‘کلمشاںگھری’ (آلودہ پاؤں والا) کے نام سے مشہور ہوا؛ اور گرو کے شاپ سے وہ راکشس بن کر جنگلوں میں بھٹکنے لگا۔

Word by Word

• कल्मषाङ्घ्रिः: Kalmaṣāṅghri (defiled-footed)
• कल्मषाङ्घ्रिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्मष (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्घ्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कल्मषस्य अङ्घ्रिः) = one whose foot is defiled

• इति: thus (named)
• इति: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नामनिर्देश/उद्धरणसूचक (quotative)

• ख्यातः: was known
• ख्यातः: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ख्या (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle) विशेषण; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘ख्यातः’ = renowned/called

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-viseshana (Temporal adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (thereafter)

• प्रभृति: from then on
• प्रभृति: Kriya-viseshana (Temporal adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रभृति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आरम्भवाचक (from, starting from)

• पार्थिवः: the king
• पार्थिवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन

• बभूव: became
• बभूव: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• गुरुशापेन: by the teacher's curse
• गुरुशापेन: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक) + शाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/करण-हेतु), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (गुरोः शापः)

• राक्षसः: a demon
• राक्षसः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन

• वनगोचरः: forest-roaming
• वनगोचरः: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक) + गोचर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (वने गोचरः) = moving in the forest

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic recounting)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king’s feet appear dark/tainted; his royal bearing collapses into a rākṣasa-like silhouette. The guru’s curse is implied as a radiant, stern utterance; the king turns toward the forest path, now an outcast.

Characters & Entities

• Kalmaṣāṅghri (King)
• Vasiṣṭha
• Rākṣasa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma-impurity and conflict with the guru can overturn royal fortune; a king who fails in sacred responsibility may fall into bestiality and exile.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is praised; the verse is primarily etiological, explaining the king’s epithet and cursed condition.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it states the result of the guru’s curse and the king’s transformation.