Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 97

Devanagari script

सर्वसौंदर्यनिलया सर्वलक्षणसत्खनिः । अधिशेते ध्रुवं ध्वांतं तन्मौलिं ब्रध्न साध्वसात्

Transliteration

sarvasauṃdaryanilayā sarvalakṣaṇasatkhaniḥ | adhiśete dhruvaṃ dhvāṃtaṃ tanmauliṃ bradhna sādhvasāt

Translation

Sie—Wohnstatt aller Schönheit, eine wahre Fundgrube aller glückverheißenden Zeichen—erblickte, von plötzlicher Furcht ergriffen, eine starre Finsternis, die auf seiner Krone ruhte.

Word by Word

• sarva-sauṃdarya-nilayā: abode of all beauty
• sarva-sauṃdarya-nilayā: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + sauṃdarya (प्रातिपदिक) + nilayā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘sarvasauṃdaryasya nilayā’ (abode of all beauty); used as विशेषण

• sarva-lakṣaṇa-sat-khaniḥ: true mine of all auspicious marks
• sarva-lakṣaṇa-sat-khaniḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + lakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + sat (प्रातिपदिक) + khani (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुष: ‘sarvalakṣaṇānāṃ satī khaniḥ’ (true mine of all marks/virtues); used as विशेषण

• adhiśete: lies upon/overlies
• adhiśete: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: adhi-śī (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद

• dhruvam: surely
• dhruvam: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dhruva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावेन प्रयोगः (adverbial use), निश्चयार्थक

• dhvāntam: darkness
• dhvāntam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhvānta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• tat-maulim: his crown/topknot
• tat-maulim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + mauli (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘tasya maulim’

• bradhna: O Bradhna (name/epithet)
• bradhna: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bradhna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• sādhvasāt: from fear
• sādhvasāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sādhvasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), पञ्चमी (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (typical frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The woman, radiant with beauty, recoils as she perceives a dense, unnatural darkness settled upon the king’s crown; the court’s light contrasts with the localized shadow.

Characters & Entities

• Mālyaketu (implied)
• Kalāvatī/Garbhasundarī (contextual, implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas use omens to signal the approach of karmic consequence and the need to seek refuge in dharma and sacred places.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The chapter belongs to Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s praise of Kāśī; this particular verse functions as narrative symbolism rather than tīrtha-description.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse presents an ominous sign prompting later dhārmic action.