Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

अंतरिक्षचराभ्यां च दितिजाभ्यां मनोहरा । कटाक्षिताभ्यामिव वै समुपस्थितमृत्युना

Transliteration

aṃtarikṣacarābhyāṃ ca ditijābhyāṃ manoharā | kaṭākṣitābhyāmiva vai samupasthitamṛtyunā

Translation

Zwei anmutige Dämonen, aus Diti geboren und durch den Mittelhimmel wandernd, traten heran; doch es war, als sei der Tod selbst erschienen, allein dadurch, dass sie von ihrem Seitenblick getroffen wurden.

Word by Word

• अन्तरिक्ष: sky, mid-air
• अन्तरिक्ष: Samāsa-aṅga (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तरिक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक used in compound

• चराभ्याम्: by the two sky-roamers
• चराभ्याम्: Karaṇa/Hetu (Instrument/Agency/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), द्विवचन; ‘अन्तरिक्षचर’ = “sky-roamer” (सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• दितिजाभ्याम्: by the two Diti-born demons
• दितिजाभ्याम्: Karaṇa/Hetu (Instrument/Agency/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिति + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, द्विवचन; दितिज = “son of Diti, demon” (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• मनोहरा: charming, captivating
• मनोहरा: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मनस् + हर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; मनोहर = “mind-stealing, charming” (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• कटाक्षिताभ्याम्: by the two (as if) glanced at
• कटाक्षिताभ्याम्: Upamāna-karaṇa (Instrument in simile/उपमान-करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कट + अक्षि (प्रातिपदिक) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त) from √अक्ष्/अक्षि-करणे (to look), तृतीया, द्विवचन; “by the two who were glanced at / by two glancers” (context-dependent)

• इव: as if, like
• इव: Upamā (Simile marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमावाचक अव्यय (simile marker)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• समुपस्थित: having come near, present
• समुपस्थित: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + उप + स्था (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; “arrived, present”

• मृत्युना: by death
• मृत्युना: Karaṇa/Hetu (Instrument/Cause/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two handsome yet ominous daityas glide in the mid-sky toward the playing Goddess; her sidelong glance alone makes their arrival feel like Death personified confronting them.

Characters & Entities

• Devī (implied)
• Diti-ja (demons)
• Mṛtyu (Death, personified)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma cannot endure before the Goddess: even her mere glance signifies the inevitable defeat of evil and the protection of the sacred order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśīkhaṇḍa framework glorifies Kāśī as a realm where divine guardianship is immediate and unmistakable.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed here; the verse advances the narrative of Devī’s protective might.