Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 160

Devanagari script

श्मशानशोधनी शांता शश्वच्छतधृतिष्टुता । शालिनी शालिशोभाढ्या शिखिवाहनगर्भभृत्

Transliteration

śmaśānaśodhanī śāṃtā śaśvacchatadhṛtiṣṭutā | śālinī śāliśobhāḍhyā śikhivāhanagarbhabhṛt

Translation

അവൾ ശ്മശാനശോധിനി, ശാന്തസ്വരൂപിണി. അനന്തകാലങ്ങളിലുടനീളം അചഞ്ചല ധൈര്യത്തിനായി സ്തുത്യ; അവൾ ശാലിനി, ഉത്തമ ശോഭയിൽ സമൃദ്ധ, ശിഖിവാഹനൻ (സ്കന്ദൻ)നെ ഗർഭത്തിൽ ധരിച്ചവൾ.

Word by Word

• श्मशानशोधनी: purifier of the cremation-ground
• श्मशानशोधनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्मशान + शोधन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—श्मशानस्य शोधनी इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• शांता: peaceful
• शांता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शान्त (कृदन्त; √शम् धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (pacified)

• शश्वत्: always
• शश्वत्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शश्वत् (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: always)

• शत: hundred
• शत: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/विशेषणरूपे, अव्ययवत् समासपूर्वपद; संख्या-विशेषण (hundred)

• धृति: steadfastness; fortitude
• धृति: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (समासे सम्बन्धार्थ)

• स्तुता: praised
• स्तुता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्तुत (कृदन्त; √स्तु धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (praised)

• शालिनी: graceful; possessing good qualities
• शालिनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शालिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘शालिन्’ (possessing) इन्-प्रत्ययान्त

• शालिशोभाढ्या: rich in the beauty of rice/crops
• शालिशोभाढ्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शालि + शोभा + आढ्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—शालि-शोभया आढ्या इति तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः

• शिखिवाहनगर्भभृत्: bearing the embryo of the one whose vehicle is the peacock (Kārttikeya)
• शिखिवाहनगर्भभृत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिखि + वाहन + गर्भ + भृत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—शिखि-वाहनस्य गर्भं बिभर्ति इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (उपपद-समास)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī śmaśāna-tīrtha by Gaṅgā (Maṇikarṇikā/nearby cremation ghāṭa implied)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night at a Kāśī cremation ghat: funeral pyres in the distance, yet Gaṅgā Devī radiates calm, washing the shore clean; a subtle inner-vision shows Skanda (peacock-mounted) as a luminous presence within her, symbolizing protective potency amid death.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Varanasi)
• Śmaśāna (cremation ground)
• Skanda (Kārttikeya, peacock-mounted)
• Devī (Mother of Skanda)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the liminal space of death becomes purified by the Divine; serenity and steadfastness are marks of liberating power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is famed for its śmaśānas (cremation grounds) and mokṣa-tradition; this verse harmonizes with that sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; the verse implies reverent remembrance of the Goddess in all places, including śmaśāna, as a purifier.