Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 97

Devanagari script

निषिद्धविघ्ननिचया निजानंदप्रकाशिनी । नभोंगणचरी नूतिर्नम्या नारायणीनुता

Transliteration

niṣiddhavighnanicayā nijānaṃdaprakāśinī | nabhoṃgaṇacarī nūtirnamyā nārāyaṇīnutā

Translation

അവൾ നിഷിദ്ധവും തടസ്സകരവുമായ വിഘ്നസമൂഹങ്ങളെ നീക്കുന്നവൾ, സ്വാഭാവികാനന്ദം പ്രകാശിപ്പിക്കുന്നവൾ. ആകാശമണ്ഡലത്തിൽ സഞ്ചരിക്കുന്ന അവൾ സ്തുത്യർഹയും നമസ്കാര്യയും—നാരായണി (ലക്ഷ്മി) പോലും സ്തുതിക്കുന്ന ദേവി.

Word by Word

• निषिद्ध-विघ्न-निचया: she whose mass of obstacles is restrained/forbidden
• निषिद्ध-विघ्न-निचया: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निषिद्ध (कृदन्त) + विघ्न (प्रातिपदिक) + निचय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (विघ्नानां निचयः; निषिद्धः विघ्ननिचयः)

• निज-आनन्द-प्रकाशिनी: she who reveals her own bliss
• निज-आनन्द-प्रकाशिनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निज (प्रातिपदिक) + आनन्द (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रकाशिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (निजः आनन्दः यस्याः सः; तस्य प्रकाशिनी)

• नभः-गण-चरी: she who moves in the sky/among celestial hosts
• नभः-गण-चरी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नभस् (प्रातिपदिक) + गण (प्रातिपदिक) + चरि/चरिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (नभसि गणेषु वा चरति)

• नूतिः: praise, hymn
• नूतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नूति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• नम्या: worthy of salutation
• नम्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नम्य (कृदन्त; √नम् धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कृदन्तः—यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (नम्य = to be bowed to)

• नारायणि-नुता: praised by Nārāyaṇī / the Nārāyaṇī who is praised
• नारायणि-नुता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नारायणि (प्रातिपदिक) + नुत (कृदन्त; √नु/√नव् स्तुतौ)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (नारायण्या नुता = praised by Nārāyaṇī / or ‘Nārāyaṇī’ as epithet; नुता = स्तुता)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Likely a sage interlocutor (e.g., Agastya/others in Kāśī-kathā frames; not explicit in the verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant Devī-śakti moving through the sky-vault above Kāśī, scattering dark knots of obstacles; below, the Gaṅgā ghāṭas and temple spires glow as devotees bow in reverence while Lakṣmī (Nārāyaṇī) offers praise.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Varanasi)
• Nārāyaṇī (Śrī/Lakṣmī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine praise removes obstructive forces and reveals the inner experience of bliss, making devotion itself a purifier.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, aligning the stuti with the sanctity and liberative power of Kāśī (Vārāṇasī).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the implied practice is stotra/japa—recitation and praise with reverence (namas).