Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

पीत्वा वर्षसहस्रं वै कणधूमं सुदुःसहम् । यः प्राप्तवान्महाविद्यां मृत्युसंजीविनीं हरात्

Transliteration

pītvā varṣasahasraṃ vai kaṇadhūmaṃ suduḥsaham | yaḥ prāptavānmahāvidyāṃ mṛtyusaṃjīvinīṃ harāt

Translation

他确实饮下那极其难忍的微粒之烟，历经千年；于是从诃罗（Hara）处获得名为“摩利提优·三阇伊毗尼”（Mṛtyu-saṃjīvinī，起死回生者）的大神咒智。

Word by Word

• pītvā: having drunk
• pītvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable verbal)

• varṣasahasram: a thousand years (for a thousand years)
• varṣasahasram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: varṣāṇāṃ sahasram); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• kaṇadhūmam: smoke with particles/soot-smoke
• kaṇadhūmam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaṇa + dhūma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: kaṇānāṃ dhūmaḥ); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• suduḥsaham: very hard to endure
• suduḥsaham: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + duḥsaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उपसर्ग-समासवत् (su- intensifier) ; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular), विशेषणम् (qualifying kaṇadhūmam)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• prāptavān: obtained
• prāptavān: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु)
• Form: क्तवतु-प्रत्ययान्त (perfect participle active), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• mahāvidyām: the great knowledge
• mahāvidyām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + vidyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः कर्मधारय (mahā + vidyā); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• mṛtyusaṃjīvinīm: life-restoring from death (Mṛtyu-saṃjīvinī)
• mṛtyusaṃjīvinīm: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛtyu + saṃjīvinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: mṛtyoḥ saṃjīvinī); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular), विशेषणम् (qualifying vidyām)

• harāt: from Hara (Śiva)
• harāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Gaṇas (attendants of Śiva)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śivaśarman

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śukra performs extreme austerity—drinking harsh, smoky particulate fumes for a thousand years—until Śiva (Hara) bestows the Mṛtyu-saṃjīvinī vidyā; the scene contrasts ascetic suffering with the sudden radiance of divine revelation.

Characters & Entities

• Śukra (implied)
• Hara (Śiva)
• Mṛtyu-saṃjīvinī Vidyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Severe tapas and single-minded pursuit of divine grace can yield extraordinary spiritual knowledge.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is specified; the verse highlights the source of the vidyā—Hara (Śiva).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas characterized by enduring extreme hardship for a prolonged period is implied as the means to attain the vidyā.