Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 58

Devanagari script

श्रोत्रद्वयं श्रुतिरवा दशनावलिं श्रीश्चंडी कपोलयुगलं रसनां च वाणी । पायात्सदैव चिबुकं जयमंगला नः कात्यायनी वदनमंडलमेव सर्वम्

Transliteration

śrotradvayaṃ śrutiravā daśanāvaliṃ śrīścaṃḍī kapolayugalaṃ rasanāṃ ca vāṇī | pāyātsadaiva cibukaṃ jayamaṃgalā naḥ kātyāyanī vadanamaṃḍalameva sarvam

Translation

Möge Jayamaṅgalā Kātyāyanī—deren ganzes Antlitz der vollkommene Kreis des Heils ist—uns stets beschützen: ihre beiden Ohren und das heilige Hören; ihre Zahnreihe und ihren Glanz; als Caṇḍī ihre beiden Wangen; ihre Zunge und ihr Wort; und möge sie auch ihr Kinn immerdar behüten.

Word by Word

• śrotra-dvayam: the two ears
• śrotra-dvayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrotra + dvi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन (singular); (द्विगु: द्वे श्रोत्रे)

• śrutiḥ: Śruti (personified hearing/Veda)
• śrutiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śruti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (nominative), एकवचन (singular)

• ravā: Ravā (name)
• ravā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ravā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (nominative), एकवचन (singular)

• daśana-āvalim: the row of teeth
• daśana-āvalim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daśana + āvali (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• śrīḥ: Śrī (Lakṣmī)
• śrīḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (nominative), एकवचन (singular)

• caṇḍī: Caṇḍī
• caṇḍī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caṇḍī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (nominative), एकवचन (singular)

• kapola-yugalam: the pair of cheeks
• kapola-yugalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapola + yugala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• rasanām: the tongue
• rasanām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rasanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन (singular)

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

• vāṇī: Vāṇī (Sarasvatī/speech)
• vāṇī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (nominative), एकवचन (singular)

• pāyāt: may (she) protect
• pāyāt: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pā (धाातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/benedictive), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular); परस्मैपद

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Nipāta (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• cibukam: the chin
• cibukam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cibuka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• jaya-maṅgalā: Jaya-maṅgalā (auspicious victory)
• jaya-maṅgalā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaya + maṅgalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (nominative), एकवचन (singular); (जया एव मङ्गला)

• naḥ: for us
• naḥ: Sampradāna/Beneficiary (for us/नः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (genitive), बहुवचन (plural)

• kātyāyanī: Kātyāyanī
• kātyāyanī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kātyāyanī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (nominative), एकवचन (singular)

• vadana-maṇḍalam: the face-circle (whole face)
• vadana-maṇḍalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vadana + maṇḍala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Nipāta (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• sarvam: entire
• sarvam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन (singular)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative convention: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī Jayamaṅgalā Kātyāyanī as an auspicious mandala-face: ears as sacred śruti, teeth as śrī (splendor), cheeks as Caṇḍī’s power, tongue as Vāk—suggesting mantra, learning, and protection through purified speech.

Characters & Entities

• Kātyāyanī
• Caṇḍī
• Jayamaṅgalā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devī is praised as the all-auspicious power whose very presence sanctifies speech, hearing, and perception, and whose protection grants victory (jaya) and welfare (maṅgala).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse appears within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī-māhātmya setting; while this śloka is a Devī-stuti rather than naming a single tīrtha, it functions as part of the glorification of Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a supremely auspicious sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit injunction (snāna, dāna, vrata) is stated in this verse; it operates as a protective praise (stuti/rakṣā) intended for recitation and remembrance of Devī.