Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 77

Devanagari script

तेजोगर्भा तपःसारा त्रिपुरारि शिरोगृहा । त्रयीस्वरूपिणी तन्वी तपनांगजभीतिनुत्

Transliteration

tejogarbhā tapaḥsārā tripurāri śirogṛhā | trayīsvarūpiṇī tanvī tapanāṃgajabhītinut

Translation

She bears radiance within, and her very essence is tapas, holy austerity; she abides upon the head of the Slayer of Tripura (Śiva); she is the embodied form of the three Vedas. Slender and subtle in presence—she is praised as the One before whom even the Sun’s progeny tremble in fear.

Word by Word

• tejo-garbhā: having radiance as her womb; filled with splendor
• tejo-garbhā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tejas (प्रातिपदिक) + garbhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तेजसः गर्भा)

• tapaḥ-sārā: whose essence is austerity
• tapaḥ-sārā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक) + sārā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तपसः सारः)

• tripurāri-śiro-gṛhā: the abode of Tripurāri’s (Śiva’s) head
• tripurāri-śiro-gṛhā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tripura (प्रातिपदिक) + ari (प्रातिपदिक) + śiras (प्रातिपदिक) + gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः (त्रिपुरारेश् शिरः गृहम् यस्याः/या)

• trayī-svarūpiṇī: embodiment of the three Vedas
• trayī-svarūpiṇī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: trayī (प्रातिपदिक) + svarūpiṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (त्रय्याः स्वरूपिणी)

• tanvī: slender-bodied
• tanvī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tanvī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tapana-aṅgaja-bhīti-nut: praised for (or praising) the fear of the Sun’s son (Yama)
• tapana-aṅgaja-bhīti-nut: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tapana (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅgaja (प्रातिपदिक) + bhīti (प्रातिपदिक) + nut (कृदन्त; √nu/नु (धातु) ‘स्तुतौ’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः; ‘-nut’ = वर्तमानकृदन्त/कृत्प्रत्ययान्त (स्तुतिपर) ‘स्तुवन्ती/स्तुत्य’ अर्थे

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā in Kāśī

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/assembly (Kāśī-māhātmya audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gaṅgā as a slender, radiant goddess emerging as a luminous stream from Śiva’s matted locks; Vedic aura (trayī) encircles her; celestial beings, including Sūrya’s attendants, stand in reverent awe.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Devī
• Śiva (Tripurāri)
• Vedas (Trayī)
• Sūrya (Tapana)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Goddess is presented as the inner radiance and Vedic essence itself; devotion to her aligns one with tapas, Vedic truth, and Śiva’s supreme refuge.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s praise-context, implicitly rooting the stuti in Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as the premier field of Śiva-Śakti worship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated here; the implied practice is nāma-stuti (praise/recitation of divine epithets) as a dharmic act in Kāśī.