Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

गजासुर उवाच । त्रिशूलपाणे देवेश जाने त्वां स्मरहारिणम् । तव हस्ते मम वधः श्रेयानेव पुरांतक

Transliteration

gajāsura uvāca | triśūlapāṇe deveśa jāne tvāṃ smarahāriṇam | tava haste mama vadhaḥ śreyāneva purāṃtaka

Translation

Gajāsura said: “O Lord of the gods, bearer of the trident, I know you as the destroyer of Smara (Kāma). To be slain by your own hand is truly a blessed fate for me, O Destroyer of the Triple City.”

Word by Word

• गजासुरः: Gajāsura
• गजासुरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज + असुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; नाम

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्

• त्रिशूलपाणे: O trident-in-hand
• त्रिशूलपाणे: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिशूल + पाणि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘whose hand has a trident’

• देवेश: O Lord of the gods
• देवेश: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव + ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘lord of gods’

• जाने: I know
• जाने: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदम्

• त्वाम्: you
• त्वाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• स्मरहारिणम्: the slayer of Kāma
• स्मरहारिणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्मर + हारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘destroyer of Smara (Kāma)’

• तव: of you, your
• तव: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• हस्ते: in (your) hand
• हस्ते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; locative ‘in (your) hand’

• मम: my
• मम: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• वधः: death, killing
• वधः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• श्रेयान्: better, more auspicious
• श्रेयान्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रेयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तुलनात्मक (comparative) ‘better/more auspicious’

• इव: as if, indeed
• इव: Sambandha/Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्यय

• पुरांतक: O destroyer of Tripura
• पुरांतक: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुर + अंतक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘destroyer of the cities (Tripura)’

Speaker

Gajāsura

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame audience (not specified in verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gajāsura, impaled yet lucid, folds hands toward Śiva and praises him with epithets Smarahara and Purāntaka; Śiva remains tranquil, embodying death-transcending authority.

Characters & Entities

• Gajāsura
• Śiva (Deveśa, Triśūlapāṇi, Smarahara, Purāntaka)
• Smara (Kāma)
• Tripura (implied by Purāntaka)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A devotee’s outlook can convert death into auspicious liberation when it is accepted as Śiva’s grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is the underlying sacred landscape of the Kāśī Khaṇḍa, where Śiva’s saving power is extolled.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse is praise (stuti) and theological recognition.