Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

वृद्धादित्यं समाराध्य वाराणस्यां घटोद्भव । जरा दुर्गति रोगघ्नं बहवः सिद्धिमागताः

Transliteration

vṛddhādityaṃ samārādhya vārāṇasyāṃ ghaṭodbhava | jarā durgati rogaghnaṃ bahavaḥ siddhimāgatāḥ

Translation

يا غَطودبهافا، إنّ كثيرين قد نالوا الكمال بعد أن عبدوا فِرِدّهادِتْيَا في فاراناسي عبادةً تامّة؛ فهو الذي يبدّد الشيخوخة وسوء المصير والمرض.

Word by Word

• वृद्धादित्यम्: Vṛddhāditya (the Sun)
• वृद्धादित्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृद्ध-आदित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• समाराध्य: having worshipped
• समाराध्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Converb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-राध् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive)

• वाराणस्याम्: in Vārāṇasī
• वाराणस्याम्: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाराणसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• घटोद्भव: O Ghaṭodbhava (Agastya)
• घटोद्भव: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: घट-उद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); संबोधन (address)

• जराम्: old age
• जराम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• दुर्गतिम्: misfortune, bad state
• दुर्गतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्गति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• रोगघ्नम्: disease-destroying
• रोगघ्नम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रोग-घ्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (qualifying an implied ‘फलम्’/result, or as apposition to what is removed)

• बहवः: many (people)
• बहवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• सिद्धिम्: attainment, success
• सिद्धिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• आगताः: have attained
• आगताः: Kriyā (Predicative participle/कृदन्त-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Past Active Participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘have come/attained’

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vṛddhāditya (Kāśī)

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ghaṭodbhava (as addressed in the verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim crowd at a Sun shrine in Kāśī at dawn; devotees offer arghya, while symbolic shadows of disease and misfortune dissolve under the rising solar radiance; the narrator addresses Ghaṭodbhava.

Characters & Entities

• Vṛddhāditya
• Vārāṇasī
• Agastya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s sacred worship grants both worldly well-being (health, protection) and spiritual accomplishment (siddhi).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī (Kāśī), specifically the Vṛddhāditya sacred presence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Samārādhana—proper devotional worship of Vṛddhāditya (Sun) in Kāśī.