Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

विज्ञाय नेत्रसंज्ञां तु सर्वज्ञार्ध शरीरिणी । तेनैव कंदुकेनाथ युगपन्निजघान तौ

Transliteration

vijñāya netrasaṃjñāṃ tu sarvajñārdha śarīriṇī | tenaiva kaṃdukenātha yugapannijaghāna tau

Translation

കണ്ണുകളുടെ സൂചന മനസ്സിലാക്കി, സർവ്വജ്ഞന്റെ അർദ്ധശരീരിണിയായ ദേവി അതേ കന്ദുകംകൊണ്ട് ആ രണ്ടുപേരെയും ഒരേസമയം നിഗ്രഹിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• विज्ञाय: having understood
• विज्ञाय: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund) from वि+ज्ञा

• नेत्र-संज्ञाम्: the eye-signal
• नेत्र-संज्ञाम्: Karma (Object of 'understood')
• Type: Noun
• Root: नेत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + संज्ञा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'नेत्रस्य संज्ञा' (sign/indication by the eye)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Emphasis/contrast)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• सर्वज्ञ-अर्ध-शरीरिणी: she who is half-bodied with the omniscient (i.e., his other half)
• सर्वज्ञ-अर्ध-शरीरिणी: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + शरीरिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'सर्वज्ञस्य अर्धं शरीरं यस्याः' (she whose body is half of the omniscient one)

• तेन: with that
• तेन: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• एव: only, indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• कन्दुकेन: with a ball
• कन्दुकेन: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्दुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (then)

• युगपत्: simultaneously
• युगपत्: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: युगपत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: simultaneously)

• निजघान: struck down
• निजघान: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-हन् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; धातु: नि+हन्

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), द्विवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (Ambikā/Durgā sphere)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī reads the eye-signal of the all-knowing Lord (her other half) and, without delay, strikes both intruders simultaneously using a ball (kanduka) as a weapon.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Śiva (Sarvajña)
• Ardhanārīśvara (implied)
• Vidala
• Utpala
• Kanduka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Divine Feminine is inseparable from the Divine Lord; Devī’s play becomes swift justice when dharma is threatened.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśīkhaṇḍa context glorifies Kāśī as the realm of immediate divine intervention for the protection of sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual instruction appears; the focus is on the theological motif of unity (Śiva-Śakti) and decisive protection.