Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

कालाय कालकालाय कालकूट विषादिने । व्यालयज्ञोपवीताय व्यालभूषणधारिणे

Transliteration

kālāya kālakālāya kālakūṭa viṣādine | vyālayajñopavītāya vyālabhūṣaṇadhāriṇe

Translation

কালস্বরূপকে নমঃ, আর কালেরও সংহারককে নমঃ; কালকূট বিষ ভক্ষণকারীকে নমঃ। যাঁর যজ্ঞোপবীত সাপ, এবং যিনি সাপকে ভূষণরূপে ধারণ করেন, তাঁকে নমস্কার।

Word by Word

• कालाय: to Kāla (Time/Death)
• कालाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संज्ञा (Time/Death)

• कालकालाय: to the destroyer of Time/Death
• कालकालाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक) + काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संज्ञा (the Death of Death; Time beyond time)

• कालकूटविषादिने: to the eater of Kālakūṭa poison
• कालकूटविषादिने: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कालकूट (प्रातिपदिक) + विष (प्रातिपदिक) + आदिन् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; अद् धातोः णिनि/इन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (consumer of Kālakūṭa poison)

• व्यालयज्ञोपवीताय: to him whose sacred thread is a serpent
• व्यालयज्ञोपवीताय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्याल (प्रातिपदिक) + यज्ञोपवीत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (having a serpent as sacred thread)

• व्यालभूषणधारिणे: to the bearer of serpent ornaments
• व्यालभूषणधारिणे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्याल (प्रातिपदिक) + भूषण (प्रातिपदिक) + धारिन् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; धृ धातोः णिनि/इन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (wearer of serpent-ornaments)

Speaker

Jaigīṣavya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrim-audience / ṛṣi audience (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva as Kāla: dark, luminous, calm; a halo like a turning wheel of time behind him; blue throat hinting poison consumed; serpents form his yajñopavīta and ornaments, coiled yet peaceful.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Kālakūṭa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva transcends time and death, and He transforms cosmic विष (poison) into protection for the world.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the narrative setting; Śiva as Kāla is especially resonant with Kāśī’s liberation theme beyond death.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None stated; the verse serves as mantra-like praise invoking Śiva’s victory over time and poison.