Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 110

Devanagari script

पापांधकारसंक्रुद्धः कार्तिके दीपदानतः । क्रोधांधकारितमुखं भास्करिं स न वीक्षते

Transliteration

pāpāṃdhakārasaṃkruddhaḥ kārtike dīpadānataḥ | krodhāṃdhakāritamukhaṃ bhāskariṃ sa na vīkṣate

Translation

One hemmed in by the darkness of sin, through the offering of lamps in Kārttika, no longer beholds the sun whose face is veiled by the darkness of anger.

Word by Word

• पाप-अन्धकार-संक्रुद्धः: one enraged/obstructed by the darkness of sin
• पाप-अन्धकार-संक्रुद्धः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्धकार (प्रातिपदिक) + संक्रुद्ध (कृदन्त; √क्रुध् (धातु))
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त), विशेषण; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (पापस्य अन्धकारः; तेन संक्रुद्धः)

• कार्तिके: in (the month of) Kārtika
• कार्तिके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण (locative)

• दीप-दानतः: from the giving of a lamp
• दीप-दानतः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दीप (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; अपादान (ablative); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (दीपस्य दानम्)

• क्रोध-अन्धकारित-मुखम्: (the sun) whose face is darkened by anger
• क्रोध-अन्धकारित-मुखम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रोध (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्धकारित (कृदन्त; √कृ (धातु), णिच्/causative sense) + मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (object)रूपे विशेषण; कृदन्त—क्त (past passive participle) ‘अन्धकारित’; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (क्रोधेन अन्धकारितं मुखं यस्य/यत्)

• भास्करिम्: the sun (as feminine form)
• भास्करिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भास्करि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (particle of negation)

• वीक्षते: sees
• वीक्षते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वीक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue style: Skanda to Agastya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee at a Kāśī ghat at dusk in Kārttika offers rows of oil lamps; the river reflects a constellation of flames while a shadowy aura (pāpa/krodha) recedes from the devotee’s face; the sun is implied as ‘unveiled’ by inner calm.

Characters & Entities

• Kārttika
• Dīpadāna
• Bhāskara (Sun)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Lamp-offering in Kārttika dispels inner darkness (pāpa), while anger itself is portrayed as a darkness that blocks true vision.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa framework; the broader teaching belongs to Kāśī’s dharma-context, though no single tīrtha is named in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dīpa-dāna (offering/gifting lamps) during the month of Kārttika.