Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

ततो भगवती देवी शोषणास्त्र प्रयोगतः । वृष्टिं निवारयामास सवर्षोपलमयी क्षणात्

Transliteration

tato bhagavatī devī śoṣaṇāstra prayogataḥ | vṛṣṭiṃ nivārayāmāsa savarṣopalamayī kṣaṇāt

Translation

Bấy giờ Đức Nữ Thần Bhagavatī, dùng Śoṣaṇāstra (Vũ khí Làm Khô), tức khắc ngăn trận mưa xối xả ấy, cả mưa đá cũng dừng ngay.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘ततः’ = thereafter/then

• bhagavatī: the blessed, divine
• bhagavatī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhagavatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — adjective used substantively/qualifying ‘devī’

• devī: the goddess
• devī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• śoṣaṇāstraprayogataḥ: from the employment of the drying weapon
• śoṣaṇāstraprayogataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śoṣaṇa-āstra-prayoga (प्रातिपदिक; शोषण + अस्त्र + प्रयोग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन — हेतु/कारणवाचक ‘-तः’ (ablative): ‘by/from the use of the drying weapon’

• vṛṣṭim: the rain
• vṛṣṭim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• nivārayāmāsa: stopped, checked
• nivārayāmāsa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-√vṛ (धातु) causative ‘nivāraya’
• Form: लिट् (परिप्रास-परफेक्ट/लिट्), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; causative sense — ‘caused to cease/checked’

• savarṣopalamayī: made of rain and hail
• savarṣopalamayī: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa-varṣa-upala-mayī (प्रातिपदिक; स + वर्ष + उपल + मयी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — adjective qualifying ‘vṛṣṭi’ (understood): ‘consisting of rain and hailstones’

• kṣaṇāt: in a moment, instantly
• kṣaṇāt: Apadana (Source/Time-from/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन — ‘within/from a moment’ (ablative of time)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis / audience of the kathā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī stands firm as a supernatural hailstorm and rain are abruptly arrested mid-fall by the Śoṣaṇāstra; the sky clears in an instant, fragments of ice suspended then dissolving.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Śoṣaṇāstra
• Durga (Daitya king)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine wisdom neutralizes turmoil swiftly; the right power (astra) restores order without delay.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Kāśīkhaṇḍa glorifies Kāśī; this verse contributes by portraying the protective divinity active within that sacred framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is given; the verse mentions an astra (Śoṣaṇāstra) as a narrative motif of divine protection.