Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 160

Devanagari script

संसारविषनाशिन्यै जीवनायै नमोस्तु ते । तापत्रितय संहंत्र्यै प्राणेश्यै ते नमोनमः

Transliteration

saṃsāraviṣanāśinyai jīvanāyai namostu te | tāpatritaya saṃhaṃtryai prāṇeśyai te namonamaḥ

Translation

Hommage à Toi, ô Donatrice de vie, qui détruis le poison du saṃsāra. Hommage encore et encore à Toi, Souveraine du souffle vital, qui anéantis les trois souffrances.

Word by Word

• संसार-विष-नाशिन्यै: to the destroyer of the poison of saṃsāra
• संसार-विष-नाशिन्यै: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsāra-viṣa-nāśinī (प्रातिपदिक; संसार + विष + नाशिनी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन; सम्प्रदान (dative); समासः: संसारस्य विषम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) + तस्य नाशिनी (तत्पुरुष)

• जीवनायै: to (you who are) life-giving
• जीवनायै: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jīvanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन; सम्बोधनार्थ-देवता-विशेषण (dative epithet)

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Sambandha (Salutation/नमस्कार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namaḥ (अव्यय/निपात)
• Form: नमस्कारार्थक अव्यय (salutatory particle)

• अस्तु: let it be
• अस्तु: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4th) एकवचन (ते) / षष्ठी (6th) एकवचन; अत्र चतुर्थी (recipient)

• ताप-त्रितय-संहंत्र्यै: to the destroyer of the threefold suffering
• ताप-त्रितय-संहंत्र्यै: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāpa-tritaya-saṃhantrī (प्रातिपदिक; ताप + त्रितय + संहन्त्री)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन; सम्प्रदान; समासः: तापानां त्रितयम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/द्विगु-भाव) + तस्य संहन्त्री (तत्पुरुष)

• प्राणेश्यै: to the mistress/lord of life-breaths
• प्राणेश्यै: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa-īśī (प्रातिपदिक; प्राण + ईशी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन; सम्प्रदान; समासः: प्राणानाम् ईशी (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन; सम्प्रदान

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Sambandha (Salutation/नमस्कार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namaḥ (अव्यय/निपात)
• Form: नमस्कारार्थक अव्यय

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Sambandha (Salutation/नमस्कार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namaḥ (अव्यय/निपात)
• Form: पुनरुक्ति-नमस्कार (repeated salutation)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Kāśī)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gaṅgā Devī personified rising from the river at Kāśī, holding a kalaśa, with a serene maternal face; devotees offer salutations; dark fumes labeled ‘saṃsāra-viṣa’ dissolve; three flames labeled ‘tāpa-traya’ are extinguished by her presence.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā (implied by chapter context)
• Saṃsāra
• Prāṇa
• Tāpatraya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The sacred power (here understood as Gaṅgā in context) is invoked as life-giving and as the remover of suffering and bondage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

In Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s setting, the praise is directed to the Gaṅgā’s liberating presence in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A devotional salutation (namaskāra/stotra) emphasizing liberation and removal of the threefold afflictions.