Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 74

Devanagari script

सवर्षाणां शतं कुक्षौ भवस्य परितो भ्रमन् । न तस्य ददृशे रंध्रं शुचे रंध्रं खलो यथा

Transliteration

savarṣāṇāṃ śataṃ kukṣau bhavasya parito bhraman | na tasya dadṛśe raṃdhraṃ śuce raṃdhraṃ khalo yathā

Translation

طاف في بطن بهافا مئةَ سنةٍ إلهية، ولم يرَ فيه ثغرةً قط؛ كما يبحث الخبيث عن عيبٍ في الطاهر.

Word by Word

• सवर्षाणाम्: (of) years, with years
• सवर्षाणाम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उपपद-तत्पुरुष (वर्षैः सह/वर्षयुक्तानाम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (शतम्)

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: Karma (Extent/कर्म-प्रवृत्ति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कालपरिमाण (measure of time)

• कुक्षौ: in the belly
• कुक्षौ: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुक्षि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• भवस्य: of Bhava (Śiva)
• भवस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• परितः: around
• परितः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: परितः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपसर्गार्थक/क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘around, all around’

• भ्रमन्: wandering
• भ्रमन्: Kriya (Concomitant action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भ्रम् (धातु) → भ्रमन् (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘परिभ्रमन्’

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध) — negation particle

• तस्य: of him/its
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ददृशे: he saw
• ददृशे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘ददर्श/दृष्टवान्’ (he saw)

• रन्ध्रम्: hole, opening
• रन्ध्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रन्ध्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• शुचे: for the pure one (Śiva)
• शुचे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुच्/शुचि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (4th/Dative), एकवचन; ‘शुचये’ (for the pure one)

• रन्ध्रम्: a hole
• रन्ध्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रन्ध्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• खलः: a wicked man
• खलः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: खल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; उपमेय (thing compared)

• यथा: as/like
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparison marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपमा) — ‘as/like’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śukra circles endlessly within a vast luminous abdomen-space of Bhava for ‘a hundred divine years’, searching for an exit; the scene overlays a moral allegory: a dark figure peering for stains on a spotless cloth/person.

Characters & Entities

• Bhava (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity and divine integrity are without cracks; fault-finding is a mark of inner impurity, not of the one criticized.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits in the Kāśī Khaṇḍa frame; it teaches ethics through Śiva-centric imagery rather than naming a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse.