Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

युगेयुगे शोधयेत्तांस्तेन कंटकशोधिनी । आश्वयुक्छुक्लपक्षे तु नवम्यां तामथार्चयेत्

Transliteration

yugeyuge śodhayettāṃstena kaṃṭakaśodhinī | āśvayukchuklapakṣe tu navamyāṃ tāmathārcayet

Translation

യുഗംതോറും അവൾ ആ ‘കൺടക’സമമായ ഉപദ്രവങ്ങളെ ശുദ്ധീകരിച്ച് നീക്കുന്നു; അതുകൊണ്ടാണ് അവൾ കൺടകശോധിനി എന്നു വിളിക്കപ്പെടുന്നത്. ആശ്വയുജ ശുക്ലപക്ഷത്തിലെ നവമിയിൽ ഭക്തിയോടെ അവളെ അർച്ചിക്കണം.

Word by Word

• yuge: in an age
• yuge: Adhikarana (Time-location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• yuge: (in) every age
• yuge: Adhikarana (Time-location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (yuge yuge = every age)

• śodhayet: should cleanse/remove
• śodhayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śudh/śudh (शुध्/शोध्) (causative of √śudh)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative: ‘cause to be purified/remove’)

• tān: them
• tān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• tena: by that (act/therefore)
• tena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंस/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/instrumental), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• kaṃṭaka-śodhinī: (she) Kaṇṭakaśodhinī, remover of obstacles
• kaṃṭaka-śodhinī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaṃṭaka (प्रातिपदिक) + śodhinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (कंटकान् शोधयति इति)

• āśvayuk-śukla-pakṣe: in the bright fortnight of Āśvayuja
• āśvayuk-śukla-pakṣe: Adhikarana (Time-location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āśvayuj (प्रातिपदिक) + śukla (प्रातिपदिक) + pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-परम्परा (आश्वयुजस्य शुक्लः पक्षः)

• tu: indeed, and
• tu: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषार्थक (particle: but/indeed)

• navamyām: on the ninth lunar day
• navamyām: Adhikarana (Time-location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: navamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तिथि-वाचक

• tām: her
• tām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Sequence/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रमण/आरम्भार्थक (then/now)

• arcayet: should worship
• arcayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √arc (अर्च्)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (contextual attribution within Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kaṇṭakaśodhinī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A calm ritual scene on Āśvayuja-śukla Navamī: devotees queue with offerings; the Devī’s icon radiates as ‘thorn-remover’, with symbolic thorns dissolving into light.

Characters & Entities

• Devī Kaṇṭakaśodhinī
• Āśvayuja (Āśvina)
• Navamī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Regular, time-sanctioned worship aligned with sacred calendrical moments brings purification and removal of hardships.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, through the celebration of Devī Kaṇṭakaśodhinī worship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Worship the goddess on Āśvayuja (Āśvina) bright-half Navamī.