Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 86

Devanagari script

यथैव चर्ममुंडैषा महारुंडापि तादृशी । एतावानेव भेदोस्या रुंडस्रग्भूषणात्वियम्

Transliteration

yathaiva carmamuṃḍaiṣā mahāruṃḍāpi tādṛśī | etāvāneva bhedosyā ruṃḍasragbhūṣaṇātviyam

Translation

جیسے یہ چرم مُنڈا ہے ویسی ہی اسی نوع کی مہارُنڈا بھی ہے؛ فرق بس اتنا ہے کہ وہ کٹے ہوئے سروں کی مالا سے مزین ہے۔

Word by Word

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमान/प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (as/just as)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphasis)

• carma-muṇḍā: Carmamuṇḍā
• carma-muṇḍā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: carma (प्रातिपदिक) + muṇḍā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः

• eṣā: this (she)
• eṣā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• mahā-ruṇḍā: Mahāruṇḍā
• mahā-ruṇḍā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + ruṇḍā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्यय (also/even)

• tādṛśī: of that same kind
• tādṛśī: Predicate (विशेषण/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tādṛś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• etāvān: this much
• etāvān: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etāvant (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• eva: only/indeed
• eva: Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय

• bhedaḥ: difference
• bhedaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• asyāḥ: of her
• asyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ruṇḍa-srak-bhūṣaṇatva: the state of having a garland-ornament of heads
• ruṇḍa-srak-bhūṣaṇatva: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ruṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + srak (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + tva (तद्धित-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः; तद्धितान्त (tva = -ness)

• iyam: this (is)
• iyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahāruṇḍā (paired with Carmamuṇḍā)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two fierce Devīs shown side-by-side: Carmamuṇḍā with skull garland/skin attire; Mahāruṇḍā similar but marked distinctly by a garland of severed heads (ruṇḍa-srag) as the key differentiator.

Characters & Entities

• Carmamuṇḍā
• Mahāruṇḍā
• Kāśī-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The same protective Śakti manifests in multiple forms; differences in iconography point to distinct roles while preserving one protective purpose.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī-kṣetra’s guardian tradition; the verse introduces Mahāruṇḍā as another protector associated with Kāśī tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it clarifies identification between two Devī-forms.