Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 65

Devanagari script

हरनेत्राग्निनिर्दग्ध कामजीवातुवीरुधम् । लसत्सौंदर्यसंभार जगन्मोहमहौषधिम्

Transliteration

haranetrāgninirdagdha kāmajīvātuvīrudham | lasatsauṃdaryasaṃbhāra jaganmohamahauṣadhim

Translation

Elle était l’herbe qui rend la vie, capable de ranimer même Kāma brûlé par le feu de l’œil de Hara : un remède immense d’envoûtement pour le monde, riche d’une beauté rayonnante.

Word by Word

• हरनेत्राग्निनिर्दग्ध: burnt by the fire of Hara’s (Śiva’s) eye
• हरनेत्राग्निनिर्दग्ध: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हर (प्रातिपदिक) + नेत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक) + निर्दग्ध (कृदन्त-क्त from निर्+√दह्)
• Form: समासपद; (हरस्य नेत्राग्निना निर्दग्धः) पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (nom. sg.)

• कामजीवातुवीरुधम्: the creeper that is the life-breath of desire
• कामजीवातुवीरुधम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम (प्रातिपदिक) + जीवातु (प्रातिपदिक) + वीरुध् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; उपमेय/विशेष्य (fem. acc. sg.; ‘creeper that is life-breath of desire’)

• लसत्: shining, radiant
• लसत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लस् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (शतृ-प्रत्यय, वर्तमान), समासाङ्गम्; विशेषणम्

• सौंदर्यसंभार: a collection/array of beauty
• सौंदर्यसंभार: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सौन्दर्य (प्रातिपदिक) + संभार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणार्थे नाम (nom. sg.)

• जगन्मोहमहौषधिम्: the great herb that deludes the world
• जगन्मोहमहौषधिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक) + मोह (प्रातिपदिक) + महा (प्रातिपदिक) + औषधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेष्य (fem. acc. sg.)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, often Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant goddess-like presence whose beauty is depicted as a potent herb/medicine; in the background, a subtle allusion to Śiva’s third eye—an ember-like glow—contrasted with her cooling, reviving aura.

Characters & Entities

• Hara (Śiva)
• Kāma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even desire, when scorched by ascetic fire, can be transformed—divine grace reorients passion into auspicious power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse appears within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative frame; the tīrtha is not explicitly named in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is mythic-theological praise.