Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

श्रीवत्सलांछन हरे दैत्यवंशदवानल । कच्चित्पालयितुं शक्तिस्त्रिलोकीमस्त्यकुंठिता

Transliteration

śrīvatsalāṃchana hare daityavaṃśadavānala | kaccitpālayituṃ śaktistrilokīmastyakuṃṭhitā

Translation

हे श्रीवत्स-चिह्नित हरि, हे दैत्यवंश के दावानल! क्या तुम्हारी अकुंठित शक्ति आज भी त्रिलोकी की रक्षा-पालन करने में समर्थ है?

Word by Word

• श्रीवत्सलाञ्छन: O bearer of the Śrīvatsa mark
• श्रीवत्सलाञ्छन: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रीवत्स + लाञ्छन (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘श्रीवत्सस्य लाञ्छनम्’ (having the Śrīvatsa mark)

• हरे: O Hari
• हरे: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचन

• दैत्यवंशदवानल: O wildfire to the demon race
• दैत्यवंशदवानल: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैत्य + वंश + दवानल (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘दैत्य-वंशस्य दवानलः’ (wildfire to the demon lineage)

• कच्चित्: surely? I hope
• कच्चित्: Sambandha (Interrogative particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कच्चित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नार्थक-नूनार्थक (I hope?/is it the case that?)

• पालयितुम्: to protect
• पालयितुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पाल् (धातु) + तुमुन् (कृदन्त)
• Form: तुमुनन्त (infinitive); ‘पालयितुम्’ = to protect

• शक्तिः: power, ability
• शक्तिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन

• त्रिलोकीम्: the three worlds
• त्रिलोकीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि + लोक (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः ‘त्रयः लोकाः’ → त्रिलोकी (the three worlds)

• अस्ति: is
• अस्ति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• अकुण्ठिता: unhindered, unblunted
• अकुण्ठिता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ + कुण्ठित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; नञ्-समास/उपसर्ग ‘अ-’ (un-) ; शक्तिः इति विशेषणम्

Speaker

Śiva (Śambhu)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śambhu addresses Hari with epithets: Śrīvatsa-marked chest, radiant aura; the mood is reverent yet martial—Hari as the blazing force against Daityas, sustaining the cosmos.

Characters & Entities

• Hari (Viṣṇu)
• Śrīvatsa
• Daityas
• Triloka (three worlds)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine governance sustains the cosmos; Viṣṇu’s protective power is praised as the support of dharma across the worlds.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśīkhaṇḍa setting frames the discourse within Kāśī’s sacred narrative, though this verse is primarily a cosmic inquiry.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is a laudatory inquiry (stuti in the form of questions).