Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 82

Devanagari script

अष्टम्यां च चतुर्दश्यां भौमवारे विशेषतः । संपूज्या सततं काश्यां दुर्गा दुर्गतिनाशिनी

Transliteration

aṣṭamyāṃ ca caturdaśyāṃ bhaumavāre viśeṣataḥ | saṃpūjyā satataṃ kāśyāṃ durgā durgatināśinī

Translation

അഷ്ടമിയും ചതുര്ദശിയും—പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് ചൊവ്വാഴ്ച—കാശിയിൽ ദുര്‍ഗതിനാശിനിയായ ഭഗവതി ദുര്‍ഗയെ നിത്യം വിധിപൂർവ്വം പൂജിക്കണം.

Word by Word

• aṣṭamyām: on the eighth (lunar day)
• aṣṭamyām: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; कालवाचक-सप्तमी (time-locative)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• caturdaśyām: on the fourteenth (lunar day)
• caturdaśyām: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturdaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; कालवाचक-सप्तमी

• bhaumavāre: on Tuesday
• bhaumavāre: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhaumavāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; कालवाचक-सप्तमी

• viśeṣataḥ: especially
• viśeṣataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/विशेषणार्थक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: especially)

• saṃpūjyā: is to be worshipped
• saṃpūjyā: Karya (कार्य/vidheya)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam + pūj (धातु) → saṃpūjya (कृदन्त)
• Form: भाव्य/विधेय-विशेषण; कृदन्त (gerundive/तव्यत्-प्रत्ययार्थ), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘पूजनीया/पूज्या’

• satataṃ: always
• satataṃ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: satatam (अव्यय/नपुंसकलिङ्ग-रूप)
• Form: अव्ययीभूत-नपुंसक-एकवचन-प्रयोग; काल/नित्यत्ववाचक क्रियाविशेषण (always/constantly)

• kāśyām: in Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• kāśyām: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; देशवाचक-सप्तमी

• durgā: Goddess Durgā
• durgā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: durgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• durgatināśinī: destroyer of misfortune
• durgatināśinī: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durgati (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (durgateḥ nāśinī = destroyer of misfortune)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context) to Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Kāśī street near a Devī shrine: devotees approach with lamps and red flowers on Aṣṭamī/Caturdaśī; a Tuesday procession with bells, vermilion, and protective iconography of Durgā as ‘durgati-nāśinī’.

Characters & Entities

• Durgā
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Regular, time-aligned worship of Durgā in Kāśī is presented as a direct means to overcome misfortune and inner adversity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), celebrated as a uniquely potent field for Durgā-upāsanā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Worship Durgā particularly on Aṣṭamī and Caturdaśī tithis, with special emphasis on Tuesdays.