Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 74

Devanagari script

छागवक्त्रेश्वरी देवी दक्षिणे वृषभध्वजात् । अहर्निशं भक्षयति विघ्नौघतरुपल्लवान्

Transliteration

chāgavaktreśvarī devī dakṣiṇe vṛṣabhadhvajāt | aharniśaṃ bhakṣayati vighnaughatarupallavān

Translation

വൃഷഭധ്വജൻ (ശിവൻ) ദക്ഷിണഭാഗത്ത് ഛാഗവക്ത്രേശ്വരി ദേവി വിരാജിക്കുന്നു; അവൾ അഹർനിശം വിഘ്നവനത്തിലെ কোমല പല്ലവങ്ങളെ ഭക്ഷിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• छागवक्त्रेश्वरी: the goddess ‘Chāgavaktreśvarī’
• छागवक्त्रेश्वरी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: छाग-वक्त्र-ईश्वरी (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (छागस्य वक्त्रम् यस्याः सा/छागवक्त्रा + ईश्वरी)

• देवी: the goddess
• देवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अप्पोजिशन/विशेष्य-सम्बन्धः (छागवक्त्रेश्वरी इति)

• दक्षिणे: on the southern side
• दक्षिणे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दक्षिण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; स्थानवाचक-विशेषणम् (दक्षिणे भागे)

• वृषभध्वजात्: from (the shrine of) Vṛṣabhadhvaja (Śiva with bull-banner)
• वृषभध्वजात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषभ-ध्वज (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वृषभस्य ध्वजः)

• अहर्निशम्: day and night; continually
• अहर्निशम्: Kala-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अहन्-निशा (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अव्ययीभाव-समासः; क्रियाविशेषणम् (कालवाचक)

• भक्षयति: devours/eats
• भक्षयति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• विघ्नौघतरुपल्लवान्: the tender shoots of the ‘trees’ that are masses of obstacles
• विघ्नौघतरुपल्लवान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विघ्न-ओघ-तरु-पल्लव (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-श्रृङ्खला (विघ्नानाम् ओघः; तस्य तरवः; तेषां पल्लवाः)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Chāgavaktreśvarī/Chāgeśvarī śakti-sthāna (within Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A fierce yet protective Devī with a goat-faced aspect (Chāgavaktrā), stationed south of a Śiva emblem marked by the bull-banner (Vṛṣabhadhvaja), devouring sprouting vines labeled ‘vighna’ in a dark-green forest, day and night.

Characters & Entities

• Chāgavaktreśvarī
• Śiva (Vṛṣabhadhvaja)
• Kāśī (Kṣetra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The kṣetra’s Devī power continually uproots obstacles at their very beginning, safeguarding the pilgrim’s path in Kāśī.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A southern sacred spot in Kāśī associated with Chāgavaktreśvarī near a Śiva locus indicated by the epithet Vṛṣabhadhvaja.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse praises the Devī’s ceaseless protective action.