Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

कल्याणकारिणी काम्या कमलोत्पलगंधिनी । कुमुद्वती कमलिनी कांतिः कल्पितदायिनी

Transliteration

kalyāṇakāriṇī kāmyā kamalotpalagaṃdhinī | kumudvatī kamalinī kāṃtiḥ kalpitadāyinī

Translation

O auspicious Devī, you bring welfare and are worthy to be desired; you are fragrant like lotus and blue-lotus. Adorned with water-lilies and lotuses, you are radiant splendor itself, bestowing blessings as envisioned by the devotee.

Word by Word

• kalyāṇa-kāriṇī: doer of auspiciousness
• kalyāṇa-kāriṇī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kalyāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛ (धातु) → kāriṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः, ‘कल्याणं करोति’

• kāmyā: desirable
• kāmyā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• kamala-utpala-gaṃdhinī: fragrant like lotus and water-lily
• kamala-utpala-gaṃdhinī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kamala (प्रातिपदिक) + utpala (प्रातिपदिक) + gaṃdhin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः, ‘कमलोत्पलयोः गन्धः यस्याः सा’

• kumud-vatī: possessing kumuda-lotuses
• kumud-vatī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kumud(a) (प्रातिपदिक) + vatī (प्रत्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; मतुप्-प्रत्ययार्थः (possessive)

• kamalinī: lotus-bearing; lotus-like
• kamalinī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kamalinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• kāṃtiḥ: splendour, radiance
• kāṃtiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kānti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• kalpita-dāyinī: giver of what is desired/imagined
• kalpita-dāyinī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kalpita (कृदन्त/PPP from kḷp/कल्प् धातु) + dāyinī (प्रातिपदिक from dā/दा धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः, ‘कल्पितं (इष्टं/वाञ्छितं) ददाति’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (standard audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī appears as the embodiment of auspicious radiance, surrounded by blooming lotuses and blue-lotuses; fragrance is visualized as gentle waves; she grants boons exactly as envisioned by the devotee’s purified heart.

Characters & Entities

• Devī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Goddess embodies auspiciousness and grants blessings according to sincere devotional intention.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse belongs to the Kāśīkhaṇḍa framework, reinforcing Kāśī’s sacred environment through Devī-stuti.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse is primarily eulogistic and supports stotra recitation.