Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

ग्रावद्रावा तपोद्वेष्टी चारुनासा सुकर्णिका । दारुसंजीविनी सुश्रीः क्रतुशुल्का शुभानना

Transliteration

grāvadrāvā tapodveṣṭī cārunāsā sukarṇikā | dārusaṃjīvinī suśrīḥ kratuśulkā śubhānanā

Translation

গ্রাবদ্রাবা, তপোদ্বেষ্ঠী, চারুনাসা, সুকর্ণিকা; দারুসঞ্জীবিনী, সুশ্রী, ক্রতুশুল্কা ও শুভাননা—এরাও অপ্সরাগণের অন্তর্ভুক্ত।

Word by Word

• ग्रावद्रावा: (she who is) stone-melting / rock-dissolving
• ग्रावद्रावा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ग्राव (प्रातिपदिक) + द्रावा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणरूपेण (as epithet/name)

• तपोद्वेष्टी: hater of austerity
• तपोद्वेष्टी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक) + द्वेष्टृ (प्रातिपदिक; √द्विष् धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (tapas-‘of austerity’ + hater)

• चारुनासा: beautiful-nosed
• चारुनासा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चारु (प्रातिपदिक) + नासा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (beautiful + nose)

• सुकर्णिका: fine-eared
• सुकर्णिका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (अव्यय-उपसर्ग) + कर्णिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (good + eared/with fine ears)

• दारुसंजीविनी: reviver of trees/wood
• दारुसंजीविनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दारु (प्रातिपदिक) + संजीविनी (प्रातिपदिक; √जीव् धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (reviver of wood/trees)

• सुश्रीः: radiant/auspicious one
• सुश्रीः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सु (अव्यय-उपसर्ग) + श्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘सु-’ उपसर्गयुक्त-नाम (good fortune/beauty)

• क्रतुशुल्का: having sacrifice as her fee/price
• क्रतुशुल्का: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रतु (प्रातिपदिक) + शुल्क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (fee/price for a sacrifice)

• शुभानना: beautiful/auspicious-faced
• शुभानना: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक) + आनन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (auspicious + face)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous apsarā-loka: graceful celestial women in jeweled attire, each subtly personifying a ritual-fruit (tapas, dāna, yajña). The atmosphere is perfumed and radiant, with a distant suggestion of Kāśī’s sanctity as the unseen axis.

Characters & Entities

• Grāvadrāvā
• Tapodveṣṭī
• Cārunāsā
• Sukarṇikā
• Dārusaṃjīvinī
• Suśrī
• Kratuśulkā
• Śubhānanā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

By juxtaposing names tied to beauty and anti-austerity, the text hints at the friction between tapas (discipline) and temptation, a recurring Purāṇic moral theme.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is specified in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.