Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 77

Devanagari script

तेजोगर्भा तपःसारा त्रिपुरारि शिरोगृहा । त्रयीस्वरूपिणी तन्वी तपनांगजभीतिनुत्

Transliteration

tejogarbhā tapaḥsārā tripurāri śirogṛhā | trayīsvarūpiṇī tanvī tapanāṃgajabhītinut

Translation

她内孕光辉，其精髓即苦行（tapas）；她安住于诛灭三城者（湿婆）之首；她是三部吠陀的化身。身形纤细而幽微——她被赞颂为令太阳之子亦战栗畏惧者。

Word by Word

• tejo-garbhā: having radiance as her womb; filled with splendor
• tejo-garbhā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tejas (प्रातिपदिक) + garbhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तेजसः गर्भा)

• tapaḥ-sārā: whose essence is austerity
• tapaḥ-sārā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक) + sārā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तपसः सारः)

• tripurāri-śiro-gṛhā: the abode of Tripurāri’s (Śiva’s) head
• tripurāri-śiro-gṛhā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tripura (प्रातिपदिक) + ari (प्रातिपदिक) + śiras (प्रातिपदिक) + gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः (त्रिपुरारेश् शिरः गृहम् यस्याः/या)

• trayī-svarūpiṇī: embodiment of the three Vedas
• trayī-svarūpiṇī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: trayī (प्रातिपदिक) + svarūpiṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (त्रय्याः स्वरूपिणी)

• tanvī: slender-bodied
• tanvī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tanvī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tapana-aṅgaja-bhīti-nut: praised for (or praising) the fear of the Sun’s son (Yama)
• tapana-aṅgaja-bhīti-nut: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tapana (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅgaja (प्रातिपदिक) + bhīti (प्रातिपदिक) + nut (कृदन्त; √nu/नु (धातु) ‘स्तुतौ’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः; ‘-nut’ = वर्तमानकृदन्त/कृत्प्रत्ययान्त (स्तुतिपर) ‘स्तुवन्ती/स्तुत्य’ अर्थे

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā in Kāśī

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/assembly (Kāśī-māhātmya audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gaṅgā as a slender, radiant goddess emerging as a luminous stream from Śiva’s matted locks; Vedic aura (trayī) encircles her; celestial beings, including Sūrya’s attendants, stand in reverent awe.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Devī
• Śiva (Tripurāri)
• Vedas (Trayī)
• Sūrya (Tapana)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Goddess is presented as the inner radiance and Vedic essence itself; devotion to her aligns one with tapas, Vedic truth, and Śiva’s supreme refuge.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s praise-context, implicitly rooting the stuti in Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as the premier field of Śiva-Śakti worship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated here; the implied practice is nāma-stuti (praise/recitation of divine epithets) as a dharmic act in Kāśī.