Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 140

Devanagari script

मालाधरी महोपाया महोरगविभूषणा । महामोहप्रशमनी महामंगलमंगलम्

Transliteration

mālādharī mahopāyā mahoragavibhūṣaṇā | mahāmohapraśamanī mahāmaṃgalamaṃgalam

Translation

她佩戴花鬘；她是通向解脱的大方便；她以大蛇为庄严。她平息大迷妄，而她是诸最胜吉祥之中的至吉祥。

Word by Word

• मालाधरी: garland-bearer
• मालाधरी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: माला + धर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—मालां धरति इति उपपद-तत्पुरुषः

• महोपाया: of great means; having great expedients
• महोपाया: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा + उपाय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—महान् उपायः यस्याः/या सा (महान् उपायः) कर्मधारयः

• महोरगविभूषणा: adorned with great serpents
• महोरगविभूषणा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा + उरग + विभूषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—महो-उरगैः विभूषणा/महो-उरगं विभूषणं यस्याः इति तत्पुरुषः

• महामोहप्रशमनी: pacifier of great delusion
• महामोहप्रशमनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा + मोह + प्रशमन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—महामोहस्य प्रशमनी इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• महामंगलमंगलम्: the great auspiciousness; supremely auspicious
• महामंगलमंगलम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + मङ्गल + मङ्गल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; समासः—महच्च तत् मङ्गलं च इति कर्मधारयः; पुनरुक्ति-प्रयोगः (emphatic)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Kāśī) as Mahopāya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gaṅgā Devī adorned with flower garlands and serpent ornaments, standing above swirling sacred waters; a devotee’s mind shown as a dark cloud dissolving (mahā-moha pacified) into luminous auspiciousness.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Varanasi)
• Devī (Goddess)
• Śiva (implied by serpents/ornaments)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Goddess is the liberating method itself—she ends delusion and establishes the highest auspicious state.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśīkhaṇḍa setting frames this as part of Kāśī’s liberative praise—Kāśī as a field of ‘mahā-maṅgala’.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it supports mantra/stotra recitation as an ‘upāya’ (means) for clarity and auspiciousness.