Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

ध्वांतमेतदभितः प्रसारियत्तच्छमाय विधिनाविनिर्मितम् । दीपभास्करकरामहौषधं नाधिपत्य तमसस्तुकिंचन

Transliteration

dhvāṃtametadabhitaḥ prasāriyattacchamāya vidhināvinirmitam | dīpabhāskarakarāmahauṣadhaṃ nādhipatya tamasastukiṃcana

Translation

此黑暗向四周蔓延；为使之止息，造物主依正法造作诸般对治：灯火、太阳、月光与大药草。然而黑暗并无丝毫真正的主权。

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.