Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

निरणायि मधुद्वेष्ट्रा स्रष्टुः सृष्टिविलक्षणा । कुहूराहुभयादेषा कांतिश्चांद्रमसी किमु

Transliteration

niraṇāyi madhudveṣṭrā sraṣṭuḥ sṛṣṭivilakṣaṇā | kuhūrāhubhayādeṣā kāṃtiścāṃdramasī kimu

Translation

«Madhudveṣṭṛ (Viṣṇu) l’a-t-il façonnée comme une création différente de l’ouvrage ordinaire du Créateur ? Ou bien cette clarté lunaire est-elle née de la crainte de l’amāvasyā et de Rāhu ?»

Word by Word

• niraṇāyi: was born/was produced
• niraṇāyi: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nir + jan (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (अद्यतनभूत/Aorist), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘was born/produced’

• madhudveṣṭrā: by Madhudveṣṭṛ (Viṣṇu)
• madhudveṣṭrā: Kartṛ-karaṇa (Agent in instrumental: ‘by’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhu + dveṣṭṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (madhuno dveṣṭā) = ‘enemy of Madhu’ (Viṣṇu)

• sraṣṭuḥ: of the creator
• sraṣṭuḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sraṣṭṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• sṛṣṭi-vilakṣaṇā: distinct from (ordinary) creation
• sṛṣṭi-vilakṣaṇā: Kartā (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sṛṣṭi + vilakṣaṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (sṛṣṭeḥ vilakṣaṇā) = different from creation

• kuhū-rāhu-bhayāt: from fear of Kuhū and Rāhu
• kuhū-rāhu-bhayāt: Apādāna (Source/‘from fear of’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuhū + rāhu + bhaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; समासः (kuhūyāḥ rāhoḥ bhayāt) = from fear of Kuhū and Rāhu

• eṣā: this (one)
• eṣā: Kartā (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• kāntiḥ: splendor, radiance
• kāntiḥ: Kartā (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kānti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (and)

• āndramasī: lunar
• āndramasī: Kartā (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cāndramasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् kāntiḥ इत्यस्य; ‘lunar’

• kimu: what then? indeed?
• kimu: Prashna/Emphasis particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim + u (अव्यय-समुच्चय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रश्न/indeed-what: ‘or rather/what then’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; verse conveys poetic speculation attributed to the observer within the narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Campakāvatī (mythic)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience within Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king poetically wonders: did Viṣṇu craft her uniquely beyond Brahmā’s usual creation? Is her radiance moon-born, fleeing amāvāsyā and Rāhu? Visualize the maiden with a cool lunar aura, with faint eclipse motifs—Rāhu’s shadow and a crescent—hovering symbolically behind.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu (Madhudveṣṭṛ)
• Brahmā (Sraṣṭṛ)
• Kuhū (Amāvāsyā)
• Rāhu
• Moon (Candra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic poetry links beauty with cosmic order, showing how divine forces and mythic symbols shape human perception.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None explicitly; the verse is descriptive and mytho-poetic rather than tīrtha-specific.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.