Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

कावेरीगौतमीजंघां चोलचोलां शुकावृताम् । सह्यदर्दुरवक्षोजां कांतीकांचीविभूषणाम

Transliteration

kāverīgautamījaṃghāṃ colacolāṃ śukāvṛtām | sahyadarduravakṣojāṃ kāṃtīkāṃcīvibhūṣaṇāma

Translation

Ihre Schenkel sind Kāverī und Gautamī; sie ist in die Gewänder der Cola-Lande gekleidet, als wäre sie von Papageien bedeckt; ihre Brust sind die Sahya- und Dardura-Gebirge; ihr Schmuck ist ein strahlender Gürtel—so wird die Gegend gepriesen.

Word by Word

• कावेरीगौतमीजङ्घाम्: whose shanks are (like) Kāverī and Gautamī
• कावेरीगौतमीजङ्घाम्: विशेषण
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कावेरी (प्रातिपदिक) + गौतमी (प्रातिपदिक) + जङ्घा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (कावेरी-गौतमी-रूपे जङ्घे यस्याः)

• चोलचोलाम्: wearing Chola cloth (Chola-like)
• चोलचोलाम्: विशेषण
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चोल (प्रातिपदिक) + चोल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः/पुनरुक्त-समासः (चोल-चोलः = चोलदेशीय-चोलवस्त्रयुक्ता इति)

• शुकावृताम्: covered with parrots
• शुकावृताम्: विशेषण
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुक (प्रातिपदिक) + आवृत (कृदन्त; √वृ (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्तः (आवृता), तत्पुरुषः (शुकेन आवृता)

• सह्यदर्दुरवक्षोजाम्: whose breasts are (like) Sahya and Dardura (mountains)
• सह्यदर्दुरवक्षोजाम्: विशेषण
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सह्य (प्रातिपदिक) + दर्दुर (प्रातिपदिक) + वक्षोज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (सह्य-दर्दुर-रूपौ वक्षोजौ यस्याः)

• कान्तीकाञ्चीविभूषणाम्: adorned with a radiant girdle
• कान्तीकाञ्चीविभूषणाम्: विशेषण
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कान्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + काञ्ची (प्रातिपदिक) + विभूषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (कान्त्या काञ्च्या विभूषिता/विभूषणं यस्याः)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa default dialogue-frame, verse-context narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāverī; Gautamī (Godāvarī) (implied)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (frame assumed; not explicit in excerpt)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The land-goddess stands adorned: her lower legs formed by the Kāverī and Gautamī rivers flowing like anklets; her sari patterned like Cola textiles with green parrot-like motifs; her chest rises as twin mountain ranges (Sahya and Dardura); a radiant girdle (kāñcī) gleams at her waist.

Characters & Entities

• Kāverī
• Gautamī (Godāvarī)
• Sahya
• Dardura
• Cola (Chola)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The world is envisioned as a sacred body—rivers and mountains become devotional symbols, encouraging reverence for holy geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse references revered rivers and ranges (Kāverī, Gautamī, Sahya) within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s celebratory frame of sacred space.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the mention of rivers implicitly evokes tīrtha-snāna and pilgrimage merit.