Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

संवर्धयन्सतां धर्मान्त्यक्कुर्वंस्तामसीं स्थितिम् । पद्मिनीं बोधयंस्त्विष्टां रात्रौ मुकुलिताननाम्

Transliteration

saṃvardhayansatāṃ dharmāntyakkurvaṃstāmasīṃ sthitim | padminīṃ bodhayaṃstviṣṭāṃ rātrau mukulitānanām

Translation

ਉਹ ਸਤਪੁਰਖਾਂ ਦੇ ਧਰਮ ਨੂੰ ਵਧਾਉਂਦਾ ਅਤੇ ਤਾਮਸੀ ਅਵਸਥਾ ਨੂੰ ਦੂਰ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ; ਰਾਤ ਨੂੰ ਮੁਕੁਲਿਤ ਮੁਖ ਵਾਲੀ ਕਮਲ-ਸਰੋਵਰ ਦੀ ਰੌਸ਼ਨ ਪਦਮਿਨੀ ਨੂੰ ਜਗਾਉਂਦਾ ਹੈ।

Word by Word

• saṃvardhayan: increasing
• saṃvardhayan: Karta (Agent-participle/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √vṛdh (धातु) + sam- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त ‘increasing’ (agreeing with sūryaḥ)

• satām: of the good
• satām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठī)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; ‘of the good/virtuous’

• dharmān: virtues/dharma
• dharmān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; ‘duties/virtues’

• tyakkurvan: removing
• tyakkurvan: Karta (Agent-participle/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √kṛ (धातु) + tyaj-? (उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त; पाठः ‘त्यक्कुर्वन्’ = ‘त्यक्’ (अव्यय/पूर्वपद ‘away’) + कुर्वन् (doing), sense: ‘driving away/removing’

• tāmasīm: dark
• tāmasīm: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāmasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण ‘dark’

• sthitim: state
• sthitim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthiti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘state/condition’

• padminīm: the lotus (plant/pond)
• padminīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padminī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘lotus-plant/lotus pond’

• bodhayan: awakening
• bodhayan: Karta (Agent-participle/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √budh (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त causative-participle ‘awakening’

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधान/विरोध-निपात (but/indeed)

• iṣṭām: beloved
• iṣṭām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: iṣṭa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √iṣ (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण ‘desired/beloved’ (qualifies padminīm)

• rātrau: at night
• rātrau: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rātri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘at night’

• mukulita-ānanām: with a closed face (bud-like)
• mukulita-ānanām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mukulita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √muc/√mukul? + क्त) + ānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘मुकुलितम् आननं यस्याः’ (having a closed face), qualifies padminīm

Speaker

Vyāsa (continued narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lotus-pond at dawn: closed buds through the night now opening as sunlight touches them; darkness recedes; a pilgrim watches, reflecting on dharma awakening.

Characters & Entities

• Sūrya
• Padminī (lotus-pond)
• Tamas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The rise of sattva and dharma is like sunrise—darkness retreats, and what was closed opens into radiance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned; the imagery supports sacred time (kāla) central to pilgrimage and ritual life.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly, though it implicitly aligns with dawn as an auspicious time for dharmic practices.