Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

कलौ कुण्डेश्वरीनाम सर्वसौख्यप्रदायिनी । शंखो नाम पुरा देवि विष्णुना निहतः प्रिये

Transliteration

kalau kuṇḍeśvarīnāma sarvasaukhyapradāyinī | śaṃkho nāma purā devi viṣṇunā nihataḥ priye

Translation

Trong thời Kali, Ngài được biết đến là Kuṇḍeśvarī, Đấng ban mọi an lạc. Thuở xưa, ôi Devī yêu dấu, có một kẻ tên Śaṅkha đã bị Viṣṇu tiêu diệt.

Word by Word

• कलौ: in the Kali age
• कलौ: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; ‘कलियुगे’ इत्यर्थः

• कुण्ड-ईश्वरी: Lady of the pond (Kuṇḍeśvarī)
• कुण्ड-ईश्वरी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; समासः—कुण्डस्य ईश्वरी (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• नाम: named
• नाम: Sambandha (Naming marker/नामनिर्देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नामन् (अव्यय-प्रयोगः)
• Form: अव्ययम्; नाम-निर्देशार्थक

• सर्व-सौख्य-प्रदायिनी: giver of all happiness
• सर्व-सौख्य-प्रदायिनी: Karta-bhava (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + सौख्य (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रदायिनी (प्रातिपदिक; दा-धातु-निन्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; समासः—सर्वं सौख्यं प्रददाति या (उपपद-तत्पुरुष/षष्ठीभाव); विशेषणम् (कुण्डेश्वरी)

• शंखः: Śaṅkha (a being named Conch)
• शंखः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• नाम: named
• नाम: Sambandha (Naming marker/नामनिर्देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नामन् (अव्यय-प्रयोगः)
• Form: अव्ययम्; नाम-निर्देशार्थक

• पुरा: formerly/once
• पुरा: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; कालवाचक (temporal adverb)

• देवि: O goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• विष्णुना: by Viṣṇu
• विष्णुना: Karana (Instrument/Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन

• निहतः: slain/killed
• निहतः: Karta-bhava (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि-हन् (धातु) → निहत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम् (शंखः)

• प्रिये: O beloved
• प्रिये: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन; प्रिय-सम्बोधनम्

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kuṇḍeśvarī / Śaṅkhodaka-kuṇḍa (implied)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (addressed as devi/priye)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Devī shrine by a luminous kuṇḍa in Prabhāsa; narration recalls Viṣṇu slaying the being Śaṅkha, establishing the mythic cause for the tīrtha’s name and Devī’s Kali-age epithet Kuṇḍeśvarī.

Characters & Entities

• Kuṇḍeśvarī
• Kali-yuga
• Śaṅkha (asura/being)
• Viṣṇu
• Mahādevī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In Kali-yuga, the compassionate Goddess is emphasized as an accessible giver of well-being, while tīrtha-traditions are anchored in sacred myth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kuṇḍeśvarī (and, by narrative setup, the Śaṅkha-linked tīrtha tradition such as Śaṅkhodaka/Śaṅkhāvartā in Prabhāsa Kṣetra).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite in this verse; it provides Kali-yuga naming and a mythic backstory involving Viṣṇu and Śaṅkha.