Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

दंदशूकविषघ्री च दारिताघौघसंततिः । द्रुतादेव द्रुमच्छन्ना दुर्वाराघविघातिनी

Transliteration

daṃdaśūkaviṣaghrī ca dāritāghaughasaṃtatiḥ | drutādeva drumacchannā durvārāghavighātinī

Translation

Elle qui anéantit le venin des serpents, qui brise les flots continus du péché ; prompte en vérité, comme voilée par les arbres — elle abat les fautes qu’on croit impossibles à repousser.

Word by Word

• daṃdaśūka-viṣa-ghrī: one who neutralizes/overcomes serpent-poison
• daṃdaśūka-viṣa-ghrī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daṃdaśūka (प्रातिपदिक) + viṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + ghrī (कृदन्त; √ghrā/घ्रा (धातु) ‘गन्धग्रहणे’/पर्यायप्रयोगे ‘घ्राण’—अत्र ‘घ्र’ धातोः स्त्रीप्रत्ययान्त रूपं, विषं घ्राति/नाशयति इत्यर्थे स्तुत्यर्थक-नाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (दंशूकस्य विषं …)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• dārita-agha-ogha-saṃtatiḥ: the continuous stream of sins that has been torn apart (i.e., destroyed)
• dārita-agha-ogha-saṃtatiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dārita (कृदन्त; √dṛ/दॄ (धातु) ‘विदारणे’) + agha (प्रातिपदिक) + ogha (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃtati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः; ‘dārita’ = क्त-प्रत्ययान्त ‘विदारित’

• drutā: swift
• drutā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: drutā (कृदन्त; √dru/द्रु (धातु) ‘गत्यर्थे’/‘शीघ्रगमने’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) ‘द्रुता’ = swiftly moving

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• druma-channā: covered with trees
• druma-channā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: druma (प्रातिपदिक) + channā (कृदन्त; √chad/छद् (धातु) ‘आवरणे’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (द्रुमैः छन्ना/द्रुमच्छन्ना); ‘channā’ = क्त-प्रत्ययान्त

• durvārāgha-vighātinī: destroyer of irresistible sins
• durvārāgha-vighātinī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durvāra (प्रातिपदिक) + agha (प्रातिपदिक) + vighātinī (कृदन्त; √han/हन् (धातु) ‘हिंसायाम्’ with vi- + ghātinī)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः; ‘vighātinī’ = णिनि-प्रत्ययान्त ‘घातयन्ती/नाशयन्ती’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā in Kāśī (viṣa-harā, vighna-harā)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis / pilgrims seeking tīrtha-phala

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee bitten by a serpent is saved as Gaṅgā’s water is sprinkled; dark waves representing sin-floods split apart; the river runs through a tree-lined bank (dru-macchannā), suggesting hidden sanctity; obstacles (rocks/demons) crumble as the current passes.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Devī
• Serpents (daṃdaśūka)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Goddess’s grace is both protective (against poisons and dangers) and purifying (breaking the continuity of accumulated sins).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The praise is embedded in Kāśī-khaṇḍa narration, implying Kāśī as the sacred landscape where such saving power is especially accessible.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse supports apotropaic recitation—stuti/japa for protection and purification.