Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

व्यात्तास्या धूमनिःश्वासा व्योमैकचरणोर्ध्वदृक् । तापनी शोषणीदृष्टिः कोटरी स्थूलनासिका

Transliteration

vyāttāsyā dhūmaniḥśvāsā vyomaikacaraṇordhvadṛk | tāpanī śoṣaṇīdṛṣṭiḥ koṭarī sthūlanāsikā

Translation

അവൾ വ്യാത്താസ്യാ, ഭീകരമായി വായ് പിളർന്നവൾ; ധൂമനിഃശ്വാസാ, പുകപോലുള്ള ശ്വാസമുള്ളവൾ; വ്യോമത്തിൽ ഏകചരണത്തോടെ സഞ്ചരിച്ച് ഊർദ്ധ്വദൃഷ്ടിയുള്ളവൾ; താപനീ, ദഹിപ്പിക്കുന്നവൾ; ശോഷണീദൃഷ്ടി, ദൃഷ്ടിയാൽ തന്നെ ഉണക്കുന്നവൾ; കോടരീ; സ്ഥൂലനാസികാ।

Word by Word

• व्यात्तास्या: wide-mouthed
• व्यात्तास्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्याप्त/व्यात्त (कृदन्त; √यम्/यच्छ् ‘to open, extend’) + आस्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (व्यात्तम् आस्यं यस्याः)

• धूमनिःश्वासा: smoke-breathing
• धूमनिःश्वासा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धूम (प्रातिपदिक) + निःश्वास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (धूमवत् निःश्वासः यस्याः)

• व्योमैकचरणोर्ध्वदृक्: one-foot-in-the-sky, upward-looking
• व्योमैकचरणोर्ध्वदृक्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्योम (प्रातिपदिक) + एक (प्रातिपदिक) + चरण (प्रातिपदिक) + ऊर्ध्व (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + दृश् (धातु) → दृक् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः: व्योमनि एकः चरणः यस्याः (one foot in the sky) + ऊर्ध्व-दृक् (upward-looking)

• तापनी: burning / heat-causing
• तापनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तप् (धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कृदन्त-विशेषणम् (णिनी/इनी-प्रत्ययान्तः—‘causing heat/burning’)

• शोषणीदृष्टिः: with a drying gaze
• शोषणीदृष्टिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शोषणी (कृदन्त; √शुष् ‘to dry’) + दृष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (शोषणी दृष्टिः यस्याः)

• कोटरी: hollow/sunken (cavernous)
• कोटरी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कोटरिन्/कोटरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नाम/विशेषणरूपेण (hollow-cavernous, e.g., sunken-eyed)

• स्थूलनासिका: thick-nosed
• स्थूलनासिका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थूल (प्रातिपदिक) + नासिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (स्थूला नासिका यस्याः)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (tapas/purification emphasis within Devī-stuti)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sky-striding Devī with one foot lifted into the firmament, mouth gaping, exhaling smoke; her upward gaze and scorching aura radiate like a small pralaya, yet framed as protective purification over Kāśī.

Characters & Entities

• Yoginīs
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa uses vivid epithets to emphasize the awe-inspiring power of the divine retinue, whose names are to be approached through disciplined remembrance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, the sacred landscape in which this Yoginī-focused teaching is embedded.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse supplies nāmas for recitation; the method and benefit are stated in the following verses.