Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

कुतोऽयं धूमसंभारो ज्वालावल्यः कुतस्त्वमूः । को वा मृत्युंजयं रुद्रं नो विद्यान्मदमोहितः

Transliteration

kuto'yaṃ dhūmasaṃbhāro jvālāvalyaḥ kutastvamūḥ | ko vā mṛtyuṃjayaṃ rudraṃ no vidyānmadamohitaḥ

Translation

“Whence comes this massing smoke, and whence these garlands of flame? Who, intoxicated by pride and delusion, would fail to recognize Rudra—the Conqueror of Death?”

Word by Word

• kutaḥ: whence/why
• kutaḥ: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kutaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: whence/why)

• ayam: this
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (इदम्) (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• dhūma-saṃbhāraḥ: this mass/heap of smoke
• dhūma-saṃbhāraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhūma (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃbhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (धूमस्य संभाराḥ)

• jvālā-valyaḥ: rings/rows of flames
• jvālā-valyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jvālā (प्रातिपदिक) + valī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ज्वालानां वलयः/वल्यः)

• kutaḥ: whence
• kutaḥ: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kutaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषणार्थक-निपात (particle: but/indeed)

• amūḥ: those (f.)
• amūḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (अदस्) (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• kaḥ: who
• kaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (किम्) (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्प-अव्यय (particle)

• mṛtyuṃ-jayam: death-conquering
• mṛtyuṃ-jayam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक) + jaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष (मृत्युं जयति इति) विशेषण (rudram इत्यस्य)

• rudram: Rudra (Śiva)
• rudram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• naḥ: of us/our
• naḥ: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद्) (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम (enclitic)

• vidyāt: would know
• vidyāt: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vid (विद्) (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• mada-mohitaḥ: deluded by pride
• mada-mohitaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mada (प्रातिपदिक) + mohita (प्रातिपदिक; √muh क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तृतीया/हेतौ तत्पुरुष-भाव (मदेन मोहितः) क्त-प्रत्ययान्त

Speaker

Skanda (narrative voice; rhetorical theological assertion)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sky thick with smoke and looping flame-garlands; figures look upward in startled recognition as the presence of Mṛtyuñjaya-Rudra is implied behind the omens.

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Mṛtyuñjaya (epithet of Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pride veils spiritual perception; true wisdom recognizes Śiva as Mṛtyuñjaya, the Lord beyond death.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Within Kāśīkhaṇḍa, the teaching supports Kāśī’s fame as the city where Śiva’s death-conquering grace is especially manifest.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse points to devotion and right recognition of Rudra.