Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

ये च वर्षनिमेषा वै वर्षधारांबु तर्षकाः । ये च स्थाणूपमां प्राप्ता मृगकंडूति सौख्यदाः

Transliteration

ye ca varṣanimeṣā vai varṣadhārāṃbu tarṣakāḥ | ye ca sthāṇūpamāṃ prāptā mṛgakaṃḍūti saukhyadāḥ

Translation

ومنهم من يبقي عينيه مفتوحتين زمن المطر، عطشاناً وسط السيول المنهمرة؛ ومنهم من صار كالأعمدة الساكنة، لا يجد «راحة» إلا في حكّ الجسد كحكّ الظباء.

Word by Word

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• varṣa-nimeṣāḥ: those whose (life) is like a moment in the rainy season
• varṣa-nimeṣāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + nimeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—वर्षनिमेषाः = वर्षे (वर्षाकाले) निमेषवत् (क्षणमात्रं) स्थिताः/जीवनं येषां ते

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक/खल्वर्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• varṣa-dhārā-ambu-tarṣakāḥ: those tormented by thirst even amid streams of rain-water
• varṣa-dhārā-ambu-tarṣakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + dhārā (प्रातिपदिक) + ambu (प्रातिपदिक) + tarṣaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—वर्षधाराम्बुतर्षकाः = वर्षधारायाः अम्बुना तृष्यन्ति/तृष्णावन्तो ये

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• sthāṇu-upamām: a stump-like condition
• sthāṇu-upamām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthāṇu (प्रातिपदिक) + upamā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; समासः—स्थाणूपमा = स्थाणोः उपमा (tree-stump-like state)

• prāptāḥ: having attained
• prāptāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (धातु) + pra (उपसर्ग) → prāpta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; अर्थः ‘प्राप्तवन्तः’ (having attained)

• mṛga-kaṃḍūti-saukhyadāḥ: those who gain pleasure like an animal’s scratching (itch-relief)
• mṛga-kaṃḍūti-saukhyadāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛga (प्रातिपदिक) + kaṃḍūti (प्रातिपदिक) + saukhya (प्रातिपदिक) + da (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—मृगकण्डूतिसौख्यदाः = मृगस्य कण्डूत्या यत् सौख्यं तद् ददति इव (कण्डूयनसुखलाभिनः)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Monsoon scene: sheets of rain fall as an ascetic stands unmoving, eyes unblinking, lips parched; nearby another ascetic stands like a stone pillar, attendants or forest animals occasionally scratching him like deer—an unsettling, awe-filled tableau of endurance.

Characters & Entities

• Tapoloka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tapas is portrayed as unwavering endurance—remaining unaffected by abundance or discomfort, and cultivating immovable steadiness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage sits within Kāśī’s sacred teaching context, but it highlights Tapoloka-type asceticism rather than a particular Kāśī tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Severe endurance practices: not blinking in rains, remaining thirsty despite rainfall, and maintaining pillar-like immobility.