Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

नमोस्तु तुभ्यं शरजन्मने विभो प्रभातसूर्यारुणदंतपंक्तये । बालाय चाबालपराक्रमाय षाण्मातुरायालमनातुराय

Transliteration

namostu tubhyaṃ śarajanmane vibho prabhātasūryāruṇadaṃtapaṃktaye | bālāya cābālaparākramāya ṣāṇmāturāyālamanāturāya

Translation

हे विभो, शरात जन्मलेल्या प्रभो! तुला नमस्कार; तुझी दंतपंक्ती प्रभातच्या अरुण सूर्याप्रमाणे तेजस्वी आहे। बालरूप असूनही अबाल पराक्रम असलेल्या तुला प्रणाम; षाण्मातुर—सहा मातांचा पुत्र, सर्वसमर्थ व कधीही व्याकुळ न होणाऱ्या तुला वंदन।

Word by Word

• namaḥ: salutation; homage
• namaḥ: Sambodhana/Prayojana (salutatory particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), विसर्गान्त-निपात (particle used in salutation)

• astu: let it be
• astu: Kriya (verbal predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/benedictive sense), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

• tubhyam: to you
• tubhyam: Sampradana (recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (युष्मद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), चतुर्थी विभक्ति (Dative, 4th), एकवचन (singular)

• śara-janmane: to the reed-born one
• śara-janmane: Sampradana (recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śara (प्रातिपदिक) + janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive-determinative: 'of reeds' + 'birth'), पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), चतुर्थी विभक्ति (Dative, 4th), एकवचन

• vibho: O Lord
• vibho: Sambodhana (address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vibhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन विभक्ति (Vocative, 8th), एकवचन

• prabhāta-sūryāruṇa-danta-paṅktaye: to (him) whose row of teeth is red like the dawn-sun
• prabhāta-sūryāruṇa-danta-paṅktaye: Sampradana (recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhāta (प्रातिपदिक) + sūrya (प्रातिपदिक) + aruṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + danta (प्रातिपदिक) + paṅkti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (determinative chain: 'dawn-sun-red' qualifying 'tooth-row'), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (paṅkti), चतुर्थी विभक्ति (Dative, 4th), एकवचन

• bālāya: to the child (youthful one)
• bālāya: Sampradana (recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी विभक्ति (Dative, 4th), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• abāla-parākramāya: to (him) of not-childish valor
• abāla-parākramāya: Sampradana (recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a- (नञ्) + bāla (प्रातिपदिक) + parākrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नञ्-तत्पुरुष (negation: 'not-child' + 'valor' = 'non-childish valor'), पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ṣāṇmāturāya: to the one (reared) by the six mothers
• ṣāṇmāturāya: Sampradana (recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṇ (षष्/षट् संख्याप्रातिपदिक) + mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive sense: 'of six mothers'), पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी विभक्ति, एकवचन

• alam: free from; beyond
• alam: Upapada (governing particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: alam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, पर्याप्त्यर्थक/निषेधार्थक-निपात (particle: 'enough; free from')

• anāturāya: to the untroubled one
• anāturāya: Sampradana (recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a- (नञ्) + ātura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नञ्-तत्पुरुष (negation: 'not distressed/ill'), पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Agastya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee offers a hymn to youthful Kārtikeya: childlike form yet heroic aura; teeth gleam like the crimson dawn; six mothers subtly present as protective matr̥kās; the atmosphere is auspicious and radiant.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Kārtikeya (Skanda)
• Six Mothers (Kṛttikās)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine power can appear in humble beginnings; the Lord protects devotees with effortless strength.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī remains the overarching sacred geography; the verse focuses on Kārtikeya’s epithets rather than a single tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it supports devotional recitation and remembrance of Skanda’s birth-epithets.