Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

दृष्ट्वा धौतेश्वरीं दुर्गां ब्रह्महत्याविनाशिनीम् । तत्र विश्रममाणश्च शङ्करस्त्रिपुरान्तकः

Transliteration

dṛṣṭvā dhauteśvarīṃ durgāṃ brahmahatyāvināśinīm | tatra viśramamāṇaśca śaṅkarastripurāntakaḥ

Translation

Nachdem er Dhauteśvarī Durgā gesehen hatte, die Vernichterin der Brahmahatyā, ruhte Śaṅkara – der Bezwinger von Tripura – dort aus.

Word by Word

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive)

• धौतेश्वरीम्: Dhauteśvarī
• धौतेश्वरीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धौतेश्वरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• दुर्गाम्: Durgā
• दुर्गाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); अप्पोजिशन (in apposition) धौतेश्वरीम्

• ब्रह्म-हत्या-विनाशिनीम्: destroyer of brahmahatyā (sin)
• ब्रह्म-हत्या-विनाशिनीम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + हत्या (प्रातिपदिक) + विनाशिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (qualifying) दुर्गाम्/धौतेश्वरीम्

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• विश्रममाणः: resting
• विश्रममाणः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विश्रम् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (Present Active Participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying) शङ्करः

• च: and
• च: Sambandha-bodhaka (Connector/सम्बन्धबोधक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• शङ्करः: Śaṅkara
• शङ्करः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शङ्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• त्रिपुर-अन्तकः: destroyer of Tripura
• त्रिपुर-अन्तकः: Karta (Subject apposition/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिपुर (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); उपाधि/विशेषण (epithet) शङ्करः

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator (likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing a King

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dhauteśvarī (brahmahatyā-vināśinī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (Rājan)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śaṅkara, famed as Tripurāntaka, stands before Dhauteśvarī Durgā; the atmosphere is calm after turmoil—he then rests beneath a sacred tree or within the shrine precinct as the sin’s shadow dissipates.

Characters & Entities

• Dhauteśvarī
• Durgā
• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• Tripura
• Brahmahatyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine presence ‘rests’ where purification and protection (Durgā) are manifest, teaching that sacred places are upheld by living divinity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Dhauteśvarī shrine area at the Narmadā-associated tīrtha famed for destroying brahmahatyā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse emphasizes darśana of the Goddess as spiritually transformative.