Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

खरसंतापशमनी खनिः पीयूषपाथसाम् । गंगा गंधवती गौरी गंधर्वनगरप्रिया

Transliteration

kharasaṃtāpaśamanī khaniḥ pīyūṣapāthasām | gaṃgā gaṃdhavatī gaurī gaṃdharvanagarapriyā

Translation

അവൾ കഠിനസന്താപം ശമിപ്പിക്കുന്നവൾ, അമൃതധാരകളുടെ ഖനി-ഉറവിടം. അവളേ ഗംഗ—സുഗന്ധവതി, ദീപ്തിമതി ഗൗരി—ഗന്ധർവനഗരപ്രിയ.

Word by Word

• खरसंतापशमनी: pacifier of intense suffering/heat
• खरसंतापशमनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: खर-सन्ताप-शमनी (प्रातिपदिक; शम्-धातु से ‘शमनी’ + ङीप्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘खर’ (fierce/acute) + ‘सन्ताप’ (heat/affliction) + ‘शमनी’ (pacifier)

• खनिः: a mine; a source
• खनिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: खनि (प्रातिपदिक; खन्-धातु से ‘खनि’ = mine/source)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• पीयूषपाथसाम्: of the waters of nectar
• पीयूषपाथसाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पीयूष-पाथस् (प्रातिपदिक; पाथस् = water)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; ‘पीयूष’ (nectar) + ‘पाथस्’ (waters)

• गंगा: Gaṅgā
• गंगा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• गंधवती: fragrant; possessing fragrance
• गंधवती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गन्ध-वती (प्रातिपदिक; वत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘गन्ध’ (fragrance) + ‘वती’ (possessing)

• गौरी: Gaurī
• गौरी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गौरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• गंधर्वनगरप्रिया: fond of the city of the Gandharvas
• गंधर्वनगरप्रिया: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गन्धर्व-नगर-प्रिया (प्रातिपदिक; प्रि-धातु से ‘प्रिय’ + टाप्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘गन्धर्व’ (Gandharvas) + ‘नगर’ (city) + ‘प्रिया’ (fond of)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa) speaking to Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Kāśī-ghāṭa context)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣi audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At dawn on Kāśī’s ghats, Gaṅgā appears as a luminous Devī whose waters gleam like nectar; a gentle fragrant breeze carries sandal and lotus scents; celestial city imagery shimmers above the river.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Gaṅgā
• Kāśī (implied context)
• Gandharvas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Devī is praised as cooling grace and nectar-like refuge—identical with Gaṅgā—who relieves suffering and grants purity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā in Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is implicitly central, aligning the Devī’s praise with Kāśī’s sacred river landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not stated explicitly; the verse naturally supports Gaṅgā-snān (bathing) and devotional remembrance as purifying, nectar-like practices.