Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

भौमवारे सदा पूज्या देवीनिगडभंजनी । कृत्वैकभुक्तं भक्त्यात्र बंदीमोक्षणकाम्यया

Transliteration

bhaumavāre sadā pūjyā devīnigaḍabhaṃjanī | kṛtvaikabhuktaṃ bhaktyātra baṃdīmokṣaṇakāmyayā

Translation

Am Dienstag soll Devī Nigaḍabhañjanī stets verehrt werden. Hier soll man in Hingabe das Gelübde einer einzigen Mahlzeit halten, im Wunsch nach Befreiung der Gefangenen und Lösung aus Fesseln.

Word by Word

• भौमवारे: on Tuesday
• भौमवारे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भौमवार (प्रातिपदिक: भौम + वार)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—भौमस्य वारः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• सदा: always
• सदा: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, नित्यत्ववाचक (adverb: ‘always’)

• पूज्या: worthy to be worshipped
• पूज्या: Vidhaya (Predicate adjective/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूज्य (प्रातिपदिक; √पूज् धातोः यत्/ण्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कृदन्त-विशेषण (gerundive: ‘to be worshipped’)

• देवीनिगडभंजनी: the goddess Nigaḍabhañjanī
• देवीनिगडभंजनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवीनिगडभंजनी (प्रातिपदिक: देवी + निगडभंजनी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—देवी च सा निगडभंजनी च (कर्मधारय)

• कृत्वा: having done
• कृत्वा: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘having done’

• एकभुक्तम्: the one-meal observance (eating once)
• एकभुक्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एकभुक्त (प्रातिपदिक: एक + भुक्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—एकं भुक्तम् (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषप्रायः); अर्थः—‘single meal (observance)’

• भक्त्या: with devotion
• भक्त्या: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक (adverb: ‘here’)

• बन्दीमोक्षणकाम्यया: with the wish to free captives/prisoners
• बन्दीमोक्षणकाम्यया: Hetu (Purpose/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बन्दीमोक्षणकाम्या (प्रातिपदिक: बन्दी + मोक्षण + काम्या)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण/हेतु), एकवचन; समासः—बन्दीनां मोक्षणं काम्यते यया (उपपद-तत्पुरुष; ‘with the desire for release of captives’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśī Khaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nigaḍabhañjanī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Tuesday worship scene: devotees line up with lamps and red flowers before Nigaḍabhañjanī; a central devotee, fasting with one-meal vow, offers a simple plate and prays for prisoners’ release; broken chains motif appears near the deity.

Characters & Entities

• Nigaḍabhañjanī (Devī)
• Bhaumavāra (Tuesday)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional discipline (vrata) offered to the right deity is presented as a compassionate power that dissolves bondage—personal and social.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The devotional locus of Devī Nigaḍabhañjanī (as praised in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa pilgrimage framework).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tuesday pūjā of Nigaḍabhañjanī and observing ekabhukta (one meal) with devotional intent for liberation.