Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

अथ दृष्ट्वा महादेवी विंध्याचलकृतालयाम् । आगत्य कालरात्र्यां च निवेदित तदागसम्

Transliteration

atha dṛṣṭvā mahādevī viṃdhyācalakṛtālayām | āgatya kālarātryāṃ ca nivedita tadāgasam

Translation

Then the Great Goddess, seeing the one whose dwelling was established on the Vindhya mountain, came and reported that offence to Kālarātri.

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्ध/अनन्तर-निर्देशक) — ‘then/now’

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दृश् (धातु) → दृष्ट्वा (क्त्वा)
• Form: अव्ययभाव (क्त्वान्त) — ‘having seen’

• महादेवी: the great goddess
• महादेवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘the great goddess’

• विंध्याचल-कृत-आलयाम्: having her abode on the Vindhya mountain
• विंध्याचल-कृत-आलयाम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विंध्याचल (प्रातिपदिक) + कृत (क्त from √कृ) + आलय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — ‘(her) whose abode is made at/on the Vindhya mountain’ (object qualifier)

• आगत्य: having come
• आगत्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आ-गम् (धातु) → आगत्य (ल्यप्/क्त्वा-समकक्ष)
• Form: अव्ययभाव (ल्यप्) — ‘having come’

• कालरात्र्याम्: to/with Kālarātrī
• कालरात्र्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालरात्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन — ‘in/unto Kālarātrī’ (locative; also can function as dative-like in some usages, but form is locative)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/and)

• निवेदित: was reported/informed
• निवेदित: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-विद् (धातु) → निवेदित (क्त)
• Form: लङ्/लिट्-भ्रंश-सम्भावना; पाठे ‘निवेदित’ क्त-रूपम् — कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘(it was) reported/informed’ (finite verb understood as अस्ति/अभवत्)

• तत्-आगसम्: that offence
• तत्-आगसम्: Karma (Object of informing/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम) + आगस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — ‘that offence/sin’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda narrating to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vindhyācala (Vindhyavāsinī/Śākta abode)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mahādevī approaches the Vindhya abode; the mountain rises dark and sacred. She then meets Kālarātri—fierce, night-hued—informing her of the offence, setting the stage for divine response.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādevī
• Vindhyācala
• Kālarātri

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Transgression (āgasa) is not ignored in the moral universe of the Purāṇas; divine agencies coordinate to uphold dharma and protect the sacred order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The chapter belongs to the Kāśīkhaṇḍa (glorifying Kāśī), while this verse additionally references Vindhyācala as a significant sacred mountain-region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates a divine communication regarding an offence.