Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

संसारसागरतरे हर दुःखभारं सारं मुखेंदुमभिदर्शय सौख्यसिंधो । पुन्नामतीव्रनरकार्णव वाडवाग्नेस्संजीवयस्व पितरं निजवाक्सुधोक्षैः

Transliteration

saṃsārasāgaratare hara duḥkhabhāraṃ sāraṃ mukheṃdumabhidarśaya saukhyasiṃdho | punnāmatīvranarakārṇava vāḍavāgnessaṃjīvayasva pitaraṃ nijavāksudhokṣaiḥ

Translation

«يا من يُعَبِّرُ بسفينةٍ عبرَ محيط السَّمْسارا، ارفعْ ثِقلَ الأحزان. يا بحرَ السعادة، أَرِنا من جديد قمرَ وجهك، خلاصةَ الحياة. يا نارَ الأعماق في محيط الجحيم العنيف المسمّى “بُنّاما”، أَحْيِ أباك بوابلٍ من كلامك، كأنه رحيق.»

Word by Word

• saṃsāra-sāgara-tare: O savior across the ocean of saṃsāra
• saṃsāra-sāgara-tare: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsāra (प्रातिपदिक) + sāgara (प्रातिपदिक) + tara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—संसारसागरस्य तारः/तरे (savior/boatman)

• hara: remove!
• hara: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: hṛ (धातु) / hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; √हृ ‘to remove’

• duḥkha-bhāram: the burden of sorrow
• duḥkha-bhāram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—दुःखस्य भारः

• sāram: excellent
• sāram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण—श्रेष्ठम्/सारभूतम् (excellent/essential)

• mukha-indum: moon-like face
• mukha-indum: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukha (प्रातिपदिक) + indu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—मुखम् एव इन्दुः (moon-like face)

• abhidarśaya: show (me)
• abhidarśaya: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi+√dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; causative not intended; ‘show/let me see’

• saukhya-siṃdho: O ocean of bliss
• saukhya-siṃdho: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saukhya (प्रातिपदिक) + sindhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—सौख्यस्य सिन्धुः (ocean of bliss)

• punnāma-atīvra-naraka-arṇava: O (one who deals with) the fierce hell-ocean Punnāma
• punnāma-atīvra-naraka-arṇava: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: punnāma (प्रातिपदिक) + atīvra (प्रातिपदिक) + naraka (प्रातिपदिक) + arṇava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—पुन्नाम्नः अतीव्रस्य नरकार्णवस्य (of the fierce hell-ocean called Punnāma)

• vāḍava-agne: O submarine fire
• vāḍava-agne: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāḍava (प्रातिपदिक) + agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—वाडवः अग्निः (submarine fire)

• saṃjīvayasva: revive!
• saṃjīvayasva: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam+√jīv (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिच्-प्रयोगः (causative) — ‘revive!’

• pitaram: father
• pitaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• nija-vāk-sudhā-ukṣaiḥ: with showers of your nectar-like speech
• nija-vāk-sudhā-ukṣaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nija (प्रातिपदिक) + vāk (प्रातिपदिक) + sudhā (प्रातिपदिक) + ukṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः—निजाया वाचः सुधायाः उक्षा (sprinklings/showers of one’s nectar-speech)

Speaker

A grieving mother addressing the child (narrative voice within Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A father (or parent) implores the child as savior: imagery of a vast ocean of saṃsāra, a blazing submarine fire in a hell-ocean named Punnāma, and nectar-like speech raining down to revive him; the child appears as a luminous rescuer.

Characters & Entities

• Saṃsāra
• Punnāma-naraka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It blends grief with the Purāṇic vision of saṃsāra and karmic consequence, emphasizing compassion, filial concern, and the longing for deliverance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not directly named; within Kāśī Khaṇḍa, the implied salvific backdrop is Kāśī, famed for liberation and relief from suffering.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; it alludes to ancestral concern (pitṛ) and hells, themes commonly linked with śrāddha and tīrtha-merit in Purāṇas.