Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

डंबरप्रवहाडीन राजहंसकुलाकुला । डमड्डमरुहस्ता च डामरोक्त महांडका

Transliteration

ḍaṃbarapravahāḍīna rājahaṃsakulākulā | ḍamaḍḍamaruhastā ca ḍāmarokta mahāṃḍakā

Translation

She flows with a splendid, roaring current, thronged by flocks of royal swans. Holding the ḍamaru drum, she is the Great and Mighty One proclaimed in the ḍāmara traditions—Gaṅgā, whose play is ever auspicious.

Word by Word

• डंबरप्रवहाडीन: moving/abounding with tumultuous flow (sense uncertain)
• डंबरप्रवहाडीन: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: डंबर (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रवह (प्रातिपदिक) + अडीन (प्रातिपदिक; uncertain/देश्य)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः; अडीन-शब्दस्य अर्थ/प्रकृति अनिश्चित

• राजहंसकुलाकुला: crowded with flocks of royal swans
• राजहंसकुलाकुला: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: राजहंस (प्रातिपदिक) + कुल (प्रातिपदिक) + आकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (राजहंसकुलैः आकुला)

• डमड्डमरुहस्ता: she who holds a ḍamaru (drum) in her hand
• डमड्डमरुहस्ता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: डमड्डमरु (प्रातिपदिक; डमरु-वाद्य) + हस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (डमड्डमरुः हस्ते यस्याः सा)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• डामरोक्त: mentioned in the Ḍāmara (tantric text/tradition)
• डामरोक्त: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: डामर (प्रातिपदिक) + उक्त (कृदन्त; √वच् धातु, क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (डामरे उक्ता/डामरेण उक्ता)

• महांडका: the great ‘egg/orb’ (epithet; sense context-specific)
• महांडका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + अण्डक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (महान् अण्डकः/महाण्डका)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-Gaṅgā (maṅgala-pravāha)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kāśī-māhātmya audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A roaring, splendid Gaṅgā current filled with white royal swans; above the waters, Gaṅgā-devī is shown holding a ḍamaru like Śiva’s emblem; the scene radiates auspiciousness and tantric-maṅgala energy.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Kāśī
• Śiva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Gaṅgā is inseparable from Śiva’s sacred power—her riverine beauty is also a theological sign of auspiciousness and liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Gaṅgā stream at Kāśī, envisioned as a Śaiva tīrtha filled with auspicious signs (haṃsas, sacred sound).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse frames Gaṅgā as worthy of Śaiva-style praise and worship at the river.