Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

ध्वांतमेतदभितः प्रसारियत्तच्छमाय विधिनाविनिर्मितम् । दीपभास्करकरामहौषधं नाधिपत्य तमसस्तुकिंचन

Transliteration

dhvāṃtametadabhitaḥ prasāriyattacchamāya vidhināvinirmitam | dīpabhāskarakarāmahauṣadhaṃ nādhipatya tamasastukiṃcana

Translation

یہ تاریکی چاروں طرف پھیلتی ہے؛ اسے مٹانے کے لیے ودھاتا نے تدبیریں بنائیں—چراغ، سورج، چاند کی کرنیں اور عظیم شفائی جڑی بوٹیاں۔ مگر تاریکی کی کوئی حقیقی سلطنت نہیں۔

Word by Word

• dhvāntam: darkness
• dhvāntam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhvānta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• abhitaḥ: all around
• abhitaḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: abhitaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: उपसर्गार्थक-अव्यय/क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: all around)

• prasāriyat: spread/extended
• prasāriyat: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prasṛ (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद/परस्मैपद-प्रयोगभेदे पाठान्तरसम्भवः; अर्थः—प्रसारितवान्/प्रसारितम्

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (referring to dhvāntam)

• kṣamāya: for the earth / forbearance (context: earth)
• kṣamāya: Sampradana (Recipient/purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣamā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative/4th), एकवचन

• vidhinā: by the Creator/ordinance
• vidhinā: Karana (Agent/instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• avinirmitam: specially fashioned/constructed
• avinirmitam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: avinirmita (कृदन्त; नि√मि/निर्मा धातु, क्त; with अव- उपसर्ग)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण

• dīpa-bhāskara-kara-āmahauṣadham: (as if) lamp, sun, rays, and potent herb (all together)
• dīpa-bhāskara-kara-āmahauṣadham: Karma (Object/apposition to dhvāntam)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dīpa (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāskara (प्रातिपदिक) + kara (प्रातिपदिक) + āmahauṣadha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्वः—दीपश्च भास्करश्च करश्च आमहौषधं च (as a collective)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात

• ādhipatyam: sovereignty, lordship
• ādhipatyam: Karta (Predicate nominative/प्रथमा-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ādhipatya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• tamasaḥ: of darkness
• tamasaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tu: but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (contrastive particle)

• kiṃcana: anything at all
• kiṃcana: Karta (Predicate complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kiṃcana (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययीभावार्थ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अनिश्चितार्थक (indefinite: anything)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogues, commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Gaṅgā-ghāṭa dīpa culture; contextual)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages/pilgrim audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic panorama: darkness receding as a lamp is lit; sun rises; moonbeams fall on a forest of medicinal herbs. The message: remedies are divinely arranged; darkness has no real dominion.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā (Vidhi)
• Sun (Bhāskara)
• Lamp (Dīpa)
• Herbs (Auṣadhi)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ignorance and negativity have no real dominion; dharmic light—knowledge, discipline, and divine aids—naturally dispels them.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; within Kāśī-khaṇḍa, such imagery supports Kāśī’s theme as a dispeller of inner darkness through Śiva’s grace.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly honors dīpa (lamp) as a remover of darkness—supporting the broader Indic practice of dīpa-dāna, though not explicitly commanded here.