Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

दर्शितानेककुतुका दुष्टदुर्जयदुःखहृत् । दैन्यहृद्दुरितघ्नी च दानवारि पदाब्जजा

Transliteration

darśitānekakutukā duṣṭadurjayaduḥkhahṛt | dainyahṛdduritaghnī ca dānavāri padābjajā

Translation

वह अनेक अद्भुत कौतुक प्रकट करने वाली; दुष्टों और दुर्जयों से उत्पन्न दुःख हरने वाली; दैन्य को काटने वाली और पाप का नाश करने वाली—दानव-शत्रु के चरण-कमलों से उत्पन्न है।

Word by Word

• darśita-aneka-kutukā: who shows many wonders/curiosities
• darśita-aneka-kutukā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: darśita (कृदन्त; √dṛś/दृश् (धातु) ‘दर्शने’) + aneka (प्रातिपदिक) + kutuka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘darśita’ = भूतकृदन्त (क्त) ‘दर्शित’; तत्पुरुषः (अनेकं कुतुकं दर्शितवती/दर्शयति)

• duṣṭa-durjaya-duḥkha-hṛt: remover of wicked, hard-to-conquer sorrows
• duṣṭa-durjaya-duḥkha-hṛt: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + durjaya (प्रातिपदिक) + duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + hṛt (कृदन्त; √hṛ/हृ (धातु) ‘हरणे’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः; ‘hṛt’ = वर्तमानकृदन्त (क्विप्) ‘हरन्ती’

• dainya-hṛt: remover of wretchedness
• dainya-hṛt: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dainya (प्रातिपदिक) + hṛt (कृदन्त; √hṛ/हृ (धातु) ‘हरणे’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः; ‘hṛt’ = वर्तमानकृदन्त (क्विप्)

• durita-ghnī: destroyer of sin
• durita-ghnī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durita (प्रातिपदिक) + ghnī (कृदन्त; √han/हन् (धातु) ‘हिंसायाम्’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः; ‘ghnī’ = वर्तमानकृदन्त (णिनि) ‘घ्नन्ती’

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

• dānava-ari: enemy of the Dānavas (demons)
• dānava-ari: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dānava (प्रातिपदिक) + ari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (दानवानाम् अरिः)

• pada-abja-jā: born from the lotus of the foot
• pada-abja-jā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक) + abja (प्रातिपदिक) + jā (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √jan/जन् (धातु) ‘जन्मनि’ → जा ‘born’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (पदस्य अब्जात् जाता/पदाब्जजा)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Viṣṇu-pāda-jā) in Kāśī

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis / tīrtha-seekers

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dynamic scene: Gaṅgā as a radiant river-goddess emerging from the Lord’s lotus-feet; Dānavas/negative forces recoil; devotees witness wondrous signs on the water (light patterns, lotuses); sorrowful figures are lifted into relief.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Devī
• Dānavas (demons)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine refuge is protective and transformative: the Goddess both shields from hostile forces and destroys the roots of wrongdoing and despair.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The stotra belongs to the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī-centered praise, tying the Goddess’s protection to worship within Vārāṇasī’s sacred domain.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is specified; the verse functions as protective stuti, suitable for recitation (pāṭha) for relief from duḥkha and durita.