Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

अथ तत्स्पर्शसौख्येन धर्मराजो महातपाः । पुनरंकुरयामास तपोग्नि ज्वलितां तनुम्

Transliteration

atha tatsparśasaukhyena dharmarājo mahātapāḥ | punaraṃkurayāmāsa tapogni jvalitāṃ tanum

Translation

ആ സ്പർശനസുഖത്താൽ, മഹത്തായ തപസ്സുചെയ്ത ധർമ്മരാജാവ് തപാഗ്നിയാൽ വെന്തുപോയ തന്റെ ശരീരത്തെ വീണ്ടും തളിർപ്പിച്ചു (പുനരുജ്ജീവിപ്പിച്ചു).

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Vākyārambha (Discourse marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आरम्भ/अनन्तर (then/thereupon)

• tat-sparśa-saukhyena: by the comfort of that touch
• tat-sparśa-saukhyena: Karaṇa (Instrument/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम) + sparśa (प्रातिपदिक) + saukhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन (instrumental: by the comfort of that touch)

• dharmarājaḥ: Dharmarāja
• dharmarājaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + rāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष समास; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• mahā-tapāḥ: great ascetic
• mahā-tapāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of dharmarājaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय समास; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन; विशेषणम् (great ascetic)

• punar: again
• punar: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (again)

• aṅkurayāmāsa: made sprout again / revived
• aṅkurayāmāsa: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: aṅkuraya (नामधातु from aṅkura) + √as (धातु; periphrastic perfect auxiliary)
• Form: नामधातु-प्रयोग; लिट्-लकार (परस्मैपद-परिप्रयोग/परस्मैपदी); प्रथम-पुरुष; एकवचन; अर्थः ‘अङ्कुरयति स्म’ (caused to sprout/renewed)

• tapo-agniṃ: the fire of austerity
• tapo-agniṃ: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक) + agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष समास; पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• jvalitām: blazing
• jvalitām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of tanum)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jvalita (कृदन्त; √jval)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषणम् (blazing)

• tanum: body
• tanum: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmeśa (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Purāṇic audience (traditional: sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Dharmarāja’s body, previously ‘burnt’ by ascetic fire, visibly regains freshness and vigor after Śiva’s soothing touch—like a sprout re-emerging.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda (implied narrator)
• Dharmarāja (Yama)
• Śiva (implied by ‘that touch’)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Austerity alone can exhaust; divine grace rebalances and renews the seeker, making spiritual life sustainable.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī’s sanctity is the setting where grace (anugraha) is shown as immediate and transformative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; it references tapas (austerity) as a spiritual discipline.