Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 82

Devanagari script

अष्टम्यां च चतुर्दश्यां भौमवारे विशेषतः । संपूज्या सततं काश्यां दुर्गा दुर्गतिनाशिनी

Transliteration

aṣṭamyāṃ ca caturdaśyāṃ bhaumavāre viśeṣataḥ | saṃpūjyā satataṃ kāśyāṃ durgā durgatināśinī

Translation

في اليوم القمري الثامن والرابع عشر، ولا سيما يوم الثلاثاء، ينبغي أن تُعبَد دورغا في كاشي على الدوام، فهي مُبيدة الشدائد وسوء الطالع.

Word by Word

• aṣṭamyām: on the eighth (lunar day)
• aṣṭamyām: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; कालवाचक-सप्तमी (time-locative)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• caturdaśyām: on the fourteenth (lunar day)
• caturdaśyām: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturdaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; कालवाचक-सप्तमी

• bhaumavāre: on Tuesday
• bhaumavāre: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhaumavāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; कालवाचक-सप्तमी

• viśeṣataḥ: especially
• viśeṣataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/विशेषणार्थक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: especially)

• saṃpūjyā: is to be worshipped
• saṃpūjyā: Karya (कार्य/vidheya)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam + pūj (धातु) → saṃpūjya (कृदन्त)
• Form: भाव्य/विधेय-विशेषण; कृदन्त (gerundive/तव्यत्-प्रत्ययार्थ), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘पूजनीया/पूज्या’

• satataṃ: always
• satataṃ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: satatam (अव्यय/नपुंसकलिङ्ग-रूप)
• Form: अव्ययीभूत-नपुंसक-एकवचन-प्रयोग; काल/नित्यत्ववाचक क्रियाविशेषण (always/constantly)

• kāśyām: in Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• kāśyām: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; देशवाचक-सप्तमी

• durgā: Goddess Durgā
• durgā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: durgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• durgatināśinī: destroyer of misfortune
• durgatināśinī: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durgati (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (durgateḥ nāśinī = destroyer of misfortune)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context) to Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Kāśī street near a Devī shrine: devotees approach with lamps and red flowers on Aṣṭamī/Caturdaśī; a Tuesday procession with bells, vermilion, and protective iconography of Durgā as ‘durgati-nāśinī’.

Characters & Entities

• Durgā
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Regular, time-aligned worship of Durgā in Kāśī is presented as a direct means to overcome misfortune and inner adversity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), celebrated as a uniquely potent field for Durgā-upāsanā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Worship Durgā particularly on Aṣṭamī and Caturdaśī tithis, with special emphasis on Tuesdays.