Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 100

Devanagari script

निर्णिक्ताशेषभुवना निःसंगा निरुपद्रवा । निरालंबा निष्प्रपंचा निर्णाशितमहामला

Transliteration

nirṇiktāśeṣabhuvanā niḥsaṃgā nirupadravā | nirālaṃbā niṣprapaṃcā nirṇāśitamahāmalā

Translation

അവൾ സമസ്ത ഭുവനങ്ങളെയും ശുദ്ധീകരിക്കുന്നവൾ, അസക്തയും ഉപദ്രവരഹിതയും. അവൾ നിരാലംബാ, പ്രപഞ്ചാതീതാ; മഹാമലം (അശുദ്ധി) പൂർണ്ണമായി നശിപ്പിച്ചവൾ.

Word by Word

• निर्णिक्त-अशेष-भुवना: she who has purified all worlds
• निर्णिक्त-अशेष-भुवना: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्णिक्त (कृदन्त; √निज्/√निञ्ज् धातु ‘to cleanse’) + अशेष (प्रातिपदिक) + भुवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (अशेषाणि भुवनानि येन/यस्या निर्णिक्तानि)

• निःसङ्गा: detached, without attachment
• निःसङ्गा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निः (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + सङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; निः-उपसर्गयुक्त (free from attachment)

• निरुपद्रवा: free from affliction
• निरुपद्रवा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर् (उपसर्ग) + उपद्रव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; निर्-उपसर्गयुक्त (free from disturbance)

• निरालम्बा: supportless, independent
• निरालम्बा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर् (उपसर्ग) + आलम्ब (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; निर्-उपसर्गयुक्त (without support/dependence)

• निष्प्रपञ्चा: beyond worldly manifoldness
• निष्प्रपञ्चा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निष् (उपसर्ग) + प्रपञ्च (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; निष्-उपसर्गयुक्त (free from worldly proliferation)

• निर्णाशित-महा-मला: she who has utterly destroyed great impurity
• निर्णाशित-महा-मला: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्णाशित (कृदन्त; √नश् धातु with causative/strengthened sense ‘to destroy completely’) + महा (प्रातिपदिक) + मल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (महामलः येन/यस्या निर्णाशितः)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sage interlocutor (not explicit)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A formless-leaning, luminous Devī/śakti as a calm radiance washing over the three worlds; worldly nets (threads, city bustle, thought-forms) dissolve around her, leaving a serene, empty sky and purified riverfront.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Varanasi)
• Devī (Goddess)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Liberation is portrayed as purity, non-attachment, and transcendence of worldly entanglement—embodied by the Goddess.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse belongs to Kāśīkhaṇḍa, reinforcing Kāśī’s reputation as a place of purification and release.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual appears; the verse emphasizes inner renunciation and contemplative praise.