Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

दर्शितानेककुतुका दुष्टदुर्जयदुःखहृत् । दैन्यहृद्दुरितघ्नी च दानवारि पदाब्जजा

Transliteration

darśitānekakutukā duṣṭadurjayaduḥkhahṛt | dainyahṛdduritaghnī ca dānavāri padābjajā

Translation

وہ جو بے شمار عجائب و کرشمے ظاہر کرتی ہے؛ جو بدکاروں اور ناقابلِ تسخیر دکھوں سے اٹھنے والی تکلیفیں دور کرتی ہے؛ جو ذلت مٹاتی اور گناہ کا ناس کرتی ہے—وہ دانوؤں کے دشمن کے کنول جیسے قدموں سے پیدا ہوئی ہے۔

Word by Word

• darśita-aneka-kutukā: who shows many wonders/curiosities
• darśita-aneka-kutukā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: darśita (कृदन्त; √dṛś/दृश् (धातु) ‘दर्शने’) + aneka (प्रातिपदिक) + kutuka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘darśita’ = भूतकृदन्त (क्त) ‘दर्शित’; तत्पुरुषः (अनेकं कुतुकं दर्शितवती/दर्शयति)

• duṣṭa-durjaya-duḥkha-hṛt: remover of wicked, hard-to-conquer sorrows
• duṣṭa-durjaya-duḥkha-hṛt: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + durjaya (प्रातिपदिक) + duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + hṛt (कृदन्त; √hṛ/हृ (धातु) ‘हरणे’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः; ‘hṛt’ = वर्तमानकृदन्त (क्विप्) ‘हरन्ती’

• dainya-hṛt: remover of wretchedness
• dainya-hṛt: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dainya (प्रातिपदिक) + hṛt (कृदन्त; √hṛ/हृ (धातु) ‘हरणे’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः; ‘hṛt’ = वर्तमानकृदन्त (क्विप्)

• durita-ghnī: destroyer of sin
• durita-ghnī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durita (प्रातिपदिक) + ghnī (कृदन्त; √han/हन् (धातु) ‘हिंसायाम्’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः; ‘ghnī’ = वर्तमानकृदन्त (णिनि) ‘घ्नन्ती’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• dānava-ari: enemy of the Dānavas (demons)
• dānava-ari: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dānava (प्रातिपदिक) + ari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (दानवानाम् अरिः)

• pada-abja-jā: born from the lotus of the foot
• pada-abja-jā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक) + abja (प्रातिपदिक) + jā (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √jan/जन् (धातु) ‘जन्मनि’ → जा ‘born’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (पदस्य अब्जात् जाता/पदाब्जजा)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Viṣṇu-pāda-jā) in Kāśī

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis / tīrtha-seekers

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dynamic scene: Gaṅgā as a radiant river-goddess emerging from the Lord’s lotus-feet; Dānavas/negative forces recoil; devotees witness wondrous signs on the water (light patterns, lotuses); sorrowful figures are lifted into relief.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Devī
• Dānavas (demons)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine refuge is protective and transformative: the Goddess both shields from hostile forces and destroys the roots of wrongdoing and despair.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The stotra belongs to the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī-centered praise, tying the Goddess’s protection to worship within Vārāṇasī’s sacred domain.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is specified; the verse functions as protective stuti, suitable for recitation (pāṭha) for relief from duḥkha and durita.