Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 92

Devanagari script

धर्मोर्मिवाहिनी धुर्या धात्री धात्रीविभूषणम् । धर्मिणी धर्मशीला च धन्विकोटिकृतावना

Transliteration

dharmormivāhinī dhuryā dhātrī dhātrīvibhūṣaṇam | dharmiṇī dharmaśīlā ca dhanvikoṭikṛtāvanā

Translation

She bears the waves of Dharma and is fit to carry every sacred burden. She is Dhātrī, the Sustainer—the ornament and glory of sustaining power. Righteous and dharmic in conduct, she protects even the farthest frontiers and barren tracts.

Word by Word

• धर्म-ऊर्मि-वाहिनी: she who carries the waves of dharma
• धर्म-ऊर्मि-वाहिनी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + ऊर्मि (प्रातिपदिक) + वाहिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (धर्मस्य ऊर्मयः ताः वहति इति)

• धुर्या: worthy, eminent
• धुर्या: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धुर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; योग्य/श्रेष्ठा (fit, eminent)

• धात्री: the sustainer/mother (Dhātrī)
• धात्री: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धात्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• धात्री-विभूषणम्: ornament of Dhātrī
• धात्री-विभूषणम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धात्री (प्रातिपदिक) + विभूषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (धात्र्याः विभूषणम्)

• धर्मिणी: righteous, endowed with dharma
• धर्मिणी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्मिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; धर्मयुक्ता (possessing dharma)

• धर्म-शीला: of virtuous nature
• धर्म-शीला: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + शील (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (धर्मं शीलं यस्याः)

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

• धन्वि-कोटि-कृत-अवना: she whose protection is made by a crore of archers
• धन्वि-कोटि-कृत-अवना: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धन्विन् (प्रातिपदिक) + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक) + कृत (कृ धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय; कृदन्त) + अवना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः (धन्विनां कोट्या कृतम् अवनम्/रक्षणम् यस्याः)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśī-khaṇḍa context, commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā in Avimukta (Kāśī)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Personified Gaṅgā as a radiant goddess flowing through Kāśī, bearing ‘waves of Dharma’, sheltering pilgrims and protecting the farthest margins of the land; ghāṭas, lamps, and ascetics frame her as Dhātrī (sustainer).

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Dhātrī
• Dharma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is sustaining and protective; the Divine is praised as the force that carries, nourishes, and safeguards the world.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is part of Kāśī-khaṇḍa’s celebratory praise, harmonizing the Goddess’s sustaining nature with Kāśī’s sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is a stuti emphasizing dharmic living and divine protection.