Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

ओष्ठामृतौन्नत्यदात्री त्वौषधं भवरोगिणाम् । औदार्यचंचुरौपेंद्री त्वौग्रीह्यौमेयरूपिणी

Transliteration

oṣṭhāmṛtaunnatyadātrī tvauṣadhaṃ bhavarogiṇām | audāryacaṃcuraupeṃdrī tvaugrīhyaumeyarūpiṇī

Translation

Ô Devī, tu accordes l’élévation nectarée des lèvres — parole douce et louange bénie ; tu es le remède de ceux que tourmente la maladie du devenir mondain. Promptement généreuse, tu es Aupendrī, puissance alliée à la force du Seigneur, et tu révèles une forme à la fois redoutable et au-delà de toute mesure ordinaire.

Word by Word

• oṣṭha-amṛta-unnati-dātrī: giver of the upliftment (exaltation) of the nectar of the lips
• oṣṭha-amṛta-unnati-dātrī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: oṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + amṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + unnati (प्रातिपदिक) + dātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (निर्देश्य-निर्देशकभावः), ‘ओष्ठामृतस्य उन्नतिं दात्री’ इति

• tvā: you (as object)
• tvā: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• auṣadham: medicine, remedy
• auṣadham: Pradhāna-pada (Predicative/Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: auṣadha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• bhava-rogiṇām: of those afflicted with the disease of worldly existence
• bhava-rogiṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhava (प्रातिपदिक) + rogin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः, ‘भवः (संसारः) एव रोगः येषाम्’/‘भव-रोगिणः’

• audārya-caṃcuḥ-aupeṃdrī: Aupendrī, eager/active in generosity
• audārya-caṃcuḥ-aupeṃdrī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: audārya (प्रातिपदिक) + caṃcu (प्रातिपदिक) + aupendrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः, ‘औदार्ये चञ्चुः (निपुणा/प्रवृत्ता) या सा’ + ‘औपेन्द्री’ (उपेन्द्रसम्बन्धिनी/उपेन्द्रस्य)

• tvā: you (as object)
• tvā: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• ugrīhya-umeya-rūpiṇī: she whose form is (both) ‘ugrīhya’ and ‘umeya’
• ugrīhya-umeya-rūpiṇī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ugrīhya (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-आधारित) + umeya (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः, ‘उग्रेह्य-उमेययोः रूपं यस्याः सा’ (अर्थः—उग्र/गृह्य-स्वरूपा तथा उमेय-स्वरूपा)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/śaunaka-led assembly (standard purāṇic audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee in Kāśī offers a hymn to Devī—golden, awe-measured form—who pours nectar-like sweetness into the devotee’s speech and holds a healing herb/medicine for the disease of saṃsāra; her generosity is shown as an overflowing vessel of gifts.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Aupendrī (Upendra/Viṣṇu epithet)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Goddess is praised as the remedy for saṃsāra (worldly bondage), and devotion to her brings upliftment, purity of speech, and inner healing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader setting is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where Devī’s greatness is celebrated as part of Kāśī’s sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated in this verse; it functions as nāma-stuti (praise by epithets) supporting japa and devotional recitation.