Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

उवाच च भवत्वेवं शरणं भव एव मे । संप्रधार्येति मनसि सती दाक्षायणी ततः

Transliteration

uvāca ca bhavatvevaṃ śaraṇaṃ bhava eva me | saṃpradhāryeti manasi satī dākṣāyaṇī tataḥ

Translation

Da sprach Satī Dākṣāyaṇī: „So sei es. Bhava (Śiva) allein ist meine Zuflucht“, nachdem sie dies im Herzen fest beschlossen hatte.

Word by Word

• उवाच: she said
• उवाच: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — Perfect, 3rd person, Singular

• च: and
• च: Avyaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय — conjunction ‘and’

• भवतु: let it be
• भवतु: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — Imperative, 3rd person, Singular

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Avyaya (Modifier/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक — adverb ‘thus/so’

• शरणम्: refuge
• शरणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — Neuter, Nom./Acc., Singular; विधेय (predicate)

• भव: O Bhava (Śiva)
• भव: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन — Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• एव: indeed, alone
• एव: Avyaya (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण — emphatic particle ‘indeed/only’

• मे: my, for me
• मे: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी, एकवचन — Gen./Dat., Singular (1st person pronoun); अत्र षष्ठी (मम)

• संप्रधार्य: having resolved
• संप्रधार्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-प्र-√धृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययभाव) — Absolutive/gerund; ‘having considered/determined’

• इति: thus
• इति: Avyaya (Discourse marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण/विचार-समाप्ति — quotative ‘thus’

• मनसि: in (her) mind
• मनसि: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Neuter, Locative, Singular

• सती: Satī
• सती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• दाक्षायणी: Dākṣāyaṇī (daughter of Dakṣa)
• दाक्षायणी: Apposition (Samānādhikaraṇa/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दाक्षायणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Feminine, Nominative, Singular; पितृ-अपत्यार्थक (patronymic)

• ततः: then
• ततः: Avyaya (Sequence marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तर/कारणवाचक — indeclinable ‘then/thereafter’

Speaker

Satī (Dākṣāyaṇī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (implied theological backdrop)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Primary audience of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa discourse; in-scene, Satī speaks to herself/attendants as a declared resolve

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Satī rises or sits upright with luminous determination, right hand in a gentle vow-gesture; her face calm yet firm as she declares Śiva as her only refuge.

Characters & Entities

• Satī (Dākṣāyaṇī)
• Śiva (Bhava)
• Dakṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True refuge is taken in Śiva (Bhava), not in social approval or ritual display; steadfast devotion becomes the anchor amid conflict.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named here; within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, such Śaiva refuge resonates with Kāśī’s identity as Śiva’s own sacred abode.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is a declaration of śaraṇāgati (taking refuge).