Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 47

Devanagari script

डाकिनीशाकिनी भूतप्रेतवेतालराक्षसाः । ग्रहाः कूष्मांडझोटिंगाः कालकर्णी शिशुग्रहाः

Transliteration

ḍākinīśākinī bhūtapretavetālarākṣasāḥ | grahāḥ kūṣmāṃḍajhoṭiṃgāḥ kālakarṇī śiśugrahāḥ

Translation

Ḍākinīs et Śākinīs ; bhūtas, pretas, vetālas et rākṣasas ; les grahas malfaisants ; kūṣmāṇḍas et jhoṭiṅgas ; Kālakārṇī et les esprits ravisseurs d’enfants—

Word by Word

• डाकिनी: ḍākinī (witch-like spirit)
• डाकिनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: डाकिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (जातिवाचक; समाहारार्थे सूची)

• शाकिनी: śākinī (female spirit)
• शाकिनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाकिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (जातिवाचक)

• भूत-प्रेत-वेताल-राक्षसाः: bhūtas, pretas, vetālas, and rākṣasas
• भूत-प्रेत-वेताल-राक्षसाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत + प्रेत + वेताल + राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (भूताश्च प्रेताश्च वेतालाश्च राक्षसाश्च)

• ग्रहाः: seizing spirits/afflictors (grahas)
• ग्रहाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• कूष्माण्ड-झोटिङ्गाः: kūṣmāṇḍas and jhoṭiṅgas (classes of spirits)
• कूष्माण्ड-झोटिङ्गाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूष्माण्ड + झोटिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः

• कालकर्णी: Kālakārṇī (a malignant spirit)
• कालकर्णी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालकर्णी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (नाम/जातिवाचक)

• शिशुग्रहाः: child-seizing spirits
• शिशुग्रहाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिशु-ग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (शिशून् गृह्णन्ति/शिशूनां ग्रहाः)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śivartārtha (waters referenced in the immediate context)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ring of shadowy spirits—ḍākinīs, śākinīs, vetālas, grahas—hover at the edge of a luminous ghat; the tirtha-water glints like a protective boundary they cannot cross.

Characters & Entities

• Ḍākinī
• Śākinī
• Bhūta
• Preta
• Vetāla
• Rākṣasa
• Grahāḥ
• Kūṣmāṇḍa
• Jhoṭiṅga
• Kālakārṇī
• Śiśu-graha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s Śaiva tīrthas are portrayed as protective, overcoming both visible and invisible afflictions that disturb dharma and well-being.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The context is Jñānoda/Śivartārtha water associated with the tīrtha described in Adhyāya 33.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is stated in this verse; it lists afflictive beings that will be pacified by the tīrtha’s power (explained in the following verse).