Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

सामोद धूपदानैश्च दिव्यगंधाश्रयो भवेत् । घृतदीपप्रबोधैश्च ज्योतीरूप विमानगः

Transliteration

sāmoda dhūpadānaiśca divyagaṃdhāśrayo bhavet | ghṛtadīpaprabodhaiśca jyotīrūpa vimānagaḥ

Translation

Wer wohlriechenden, süßen Weihrauch darbringt, wird zum Träger göttlichen Duftes; und wer Ghee-Lampen entzündet, erlangt eine lichtvolle Gestalt und fährt in einem strahlenden himmlischen Wagen.

Word by Word

• sa-āmoda: fragrant
• sa-āmoda: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (सह, उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद) + āmoda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन (धूपदानैः इति सह); कर्मधारय-समासः: ‘with fragrance/pleasant scent’

• dhūpa-dānaiḥ: with incense-offerings
• dhūpa-dānaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhūpa (प्रातिपदिक) + dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः: ‘with offerings of incense’

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (च)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• divya-gandha-āśrayaḥ: a possessor/abode of divine fragrance
• divya-gandha-āśrayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: divya (प्रातिपदिक) + gandha (प्रातिपदिक) + āśraya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः: ‘one who has/attains the support of divine fragrance’

• bhavet: would become
• bhavet: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू, भवने)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ghṛta-dīpa-prabodhaiḥ: with the lighting of ghee lamps
• ghṛta-dīpa-prabodhaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + dīpa (प्रातिपदिक) + prabodha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः: ‘with the kindling/lighting of ghee-lamps’

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (च)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• jyotī-rūpaḥ: of luminous form
• jyotī-rūpaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jyotis (ज्योतिस्) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः; विशेषणम् (विमानगः): ‘having the form of light’

• vimāna-gaḥ: one who rides a celestial car
• vimāna-gaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vimāna (प्रातिपदिक) + ga (ग, √gam/गम्, गत्यर्थ; क्त/प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः: ‘one who goes in a vimāna (celestial car)’

Speaker

Śiva (closing the sequence of worship-acts and their fruits in Adhyāya 49)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī Liṅga (Liṅgarāja)

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Amarāḥ (devas/immortals)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devotees offer curling incense smoke and rows of ghee lamps before the liṅga; the worshipper is envisioned becoming radiant, ascending in a luminous vimāna through a sky suffused with fragrance and light.

Characters & Entities

• Dhūpa (incense)
• Ghṛta-dīpa (ghee lamp)
• Vimāna (celestial car)
• Liṅga (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional offerings refine the devotee’s destiny: fragrance symbolizes purity and attraction to the divine, while lamp-light symbolizes ascent into spiritual radiance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, where even simple upacāras like incense and lamps are depicted as yielding exalted, heaven-like fruits.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dhūpa-dāna (offering incense) and ghṛta-dīpa-prabodha/dīpa-dāna (lighting ghee lamps) as acts of Liṅga worship.