Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

त्वद्भक्तिचेतसि जनेन विपत्तिलेशः क्लेशः क्व वानुभवती नतिकृत्सु पुंसु । त्वन्नामसंसृतिजुषां सकलायुषां क्व भूयः पुनर्जनिरिह त्रिपुरारिपत्नि

Transliteration

tvadbhakticetasi janena vipattileśaḥ kleśaḥ kva vānubhavatī natikṛtsu puṃsu | tvannāmasaṃsṛtijuṣāṃ sakalāyuṣāṃ kva bhūyaḥ punarjaniriha tripurāripatni

Translation

Ô épouse du Vainqueur de Tripura, pour celui dont l’esprit demeure en dévotion envers Toi, comment pourrait-il éprouver ne fût-ce qu’une trace de malheur—ou quelque tourment—sinon de façon infime ? Et pour ceux qui vivent, toute leur vie, portés par le courant salvateur de Ton Nom, où pourrait-il y avoir ici une nouvelle naissance—à plus forte raison dans la sainte Kāśī ?

Word by Word

• tvad-bhakti-cetasi: in (one whose) mind devoted to you
• tvad-bhakti-cetasi: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + bhakti (प्रातिपदिक) + cetas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (tvad-bhakti) + तत्पुरुषः (bhakti-cetas)

• janena: by/for a person
• janena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• vipatti-leśaḥ: a trace of calamity
• vipatti-leśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipatti (प्रातिपदिक) + leśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• kleśaḥ: affliction
• kleśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kleśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• kva: where?
• kva: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• vā: or/indeed
• vā: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक-निपात (disjunctive particle)

• anubhavati: is experienced
• anubhavati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu√bhū (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात (negation)

• ati-kṛtsu: among the very capable
• ati-kṛtsu: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ati (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + kṛt (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; कृत्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—अव्ययीभाव (ati-kṛt = ‘excessively accomplished/very capable’)

• puṃsu: among men
• puṃsu: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pumān (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (वेद/काव्य-रूप: puṃsu)

• tvat-nāma-saṃsṛti-juṣām: of those who delight in the course (saṃsṛti) of your name
• tvat-nāma-saṃsṛti-juṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + nāma (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃsṛti (प्रातिपदिक) + √juṣ (धातु; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक ‘juṣ’/‘juṣa’ = enjoying/serving)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (tvat-nāma) + तत्पुरुष (nāma-saṃsṛti) + उपपद-तत्पुरुष (saṃsṛti-juṣ)

• sakala-āyuṣām: of (their) whole lifetimes
• sakala-āyuṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sakala (प्रातिपदिक) + āyus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (sakala-āyus = ‘entire lifespan’)

• kva: where?
• kva: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय

• bhūyaḥ: again, further
• bhūyaḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhūyaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरर्थक/अधिक्यार्थक (again/further)

• punar-janīḥ: rebirth
• punar-janīḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: punar (अव्यय) + janī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—अव्ययीभाव (punar-janī = ‘rebirth’)

• iha: here
• iha: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• tripura-ari-patni: O consort of the enemy of Tripura (Śiva)
• tripura-ari-patni: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tripura (प्रातिपदिक) + ari (प्रातिपदिक) + patnī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (tripura-ari = ‘enemy of Tripura’) + तत्पुरुष (ari-patnī)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśī-khaṇḍa context: Skanda instructing Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee in Kāśī, mind absorbed in Devī-bhakti, repeats the Goddess’s Name as the Ganga flows; the city’s ghats and temples glow, while shadows of calamity and rebirth dissolve like mist.

Characters & Entities

• Tripurāri (Śiva)
• Tripurāri-patnī (Pārvatī/Devī)
• Kāśī (implied by Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steady devotion and reliance on the Divine Name weaken suffering and lead one beyond saṃsāra; in the Kāśī-māhātmya frame, this points to liberation-oriented life through bhakti and nāma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is the implied sacred setting of the Kāśī-khaṇḍa, where the text repeatedly emphasizes liberation and the special potency of devotion and the Divine Name.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No external rite is prescribed in this verse; it highlights nāma-japa (living by/with the Divine Name) and bhakti as the central spiritual discipline.