Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

पादगम्यं हि यत्किंचिद्वस्त्वस्ति धरणीतले । तद्भूर्लोक इति ख्यातः साब्धिद्वीपाद्रिकाननम्

Transliteration

pādagamyaṃ hi yatkiṃcidvastvasti dharaṇītale | tadbhūrloka iti khyātaḥ sābdhidvīpādrikānanam

Translation

كلُّ ما وُجدَ على وجهِ الأرضِ وكانَ يُنالُ بالمشي، فذلك يُعرَفُ باسمِ بْهُورلوكا: عالمُ البحارِ والجزرِ والجبالِ والغابات.

Word by Word

• pāda-gamyam: reachable by foot
• pāda-gamyam: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāda (प्रातिपदिक) + gamya (कृदन्त; √gam धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; यत्-सम्बन्धि विशेषणम्

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

• yat: whatever which
• yat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक सर्वनाम

• kiṃcit: anything
• kiṃcit: Karta (Subject apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक (indefinite)

• vastu: a thing
• vastu: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vastu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• asti: exists/is
• asti: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस्)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• dharaṇī-tale: on the surface of the earth
• dharaṇī-tale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharaṇī (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; निर्देशवाचक

• bhūḥ-lokaḥ: the Bhūrloka (earth-world)
• bhūḥ-lokaḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्तृपद)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūḥ (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/इति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—उद्धरण/इति-प्रयोग (quotative)

• khyātaḥ: is known/called
• khyātaḥ: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: khyāta (कृदन्त; √khyā धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त—कर्मणि/भावे, ‘is known/called’ इत्यर्थे

• sa-abdhi-dvīpa-adri-kānanam: together with oceans, islands, mountains, and forests
• sa-abdhi-dvīpa-adri-kānanam: Karta (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (सह/सहित; उपसर्गवत्) + abdhi (प्रातिपदिक) + dvīpa (प्रातिपदिक) + adri (प्रातिपदिक) + kānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम्—भूर्लोकस्य

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhūrloka (as the aggregate field of tīrthas)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇa addressee / assembled ṛṣis (frame-dependent)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim’s-eye map of Earth: concentric oceans and islands, mountain ranges, and dense forests, with a barefoot pilgrim path winding through—emphasizing ‘reachable by foot’.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Bhūrloka
• Bhū (Earth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The lived world (Bhūrloka) is itself a sacred field for dharma—where pilgrimage, charity, restraint, and worship bear fruit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single site is singled out; the verse defines the earthly realm that contains all tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it provides a definition rather than a practice.