Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

तदालापामृतधयौ न मे शब्दग्रहौ प्रिये । प्राणेश्वरि तदारभ्य स्यातां शब्दांतरग्रहौ

Transliteration

tadālāpāmṛtadhayau na me śabdagrahau priye | prāṇeśvari tadārabhya syātāṃ śabdāṃtaragrahau

Translation

يا حبيبةَ القلب، يا سيّدةَ حياتي—منذ حُرِمتُ رحيقَ حديثها لم تعد أذناي تلتقطان الصوت حقًّا؛ ومنذ ذلك الحين لا تمسكان إلا «أصواتًا أخرى» خاويةً من نبرتها.

Word by Word

• tad-ālāpa-amṛta-dhayau: the two drinkers of the nectar of her speech
• tad-ālāpa-amṛta-dhayau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम) + ālāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + amṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + dhaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (तस्य आलापः अमृतम् इव; तस्य अमृतस्य धयौ/पानकर्तारौ)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation)

• me: of me, my
• me: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th) / चतुर्थी (4th) एकवचन-रूप; अत्र षष्ठी (of me)

• śabda-grahau: the two graspers of sound (ears)
• śabda-grahau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śabda (प्रातिपदिक) + graha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (śabdasya grahau)

• priye: O beloved
• priye: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; संबोधन

• prāṇa-īśvari: O mistress of my life
• prāṇa-īśvari: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (prāṇānām īśvarī)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण-काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (then)

• ārabhya: starting from
• ārabhya: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण-काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-√rabh (धातु) + lyap (कृत्)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (from that time onward)

• syātām: may they be / became (optative)
• syātām: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, द्विवचन; परस्मैपद

• śabda-antara-grahau: the two graspers of other sounds
• śabda-antara-grahau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śabda (प्रातिपदिक) + antara (प्रातिपदिक) + graha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; तत्पुरुष (śabdāntarasya grahau)

Speaker

Skanda (contextual attribution: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (nāda/śabda sanctity)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A close, intimate portrayal: Śiva touching his ears or holding a hand near the ear in a gesture of ‘no longer hearing’, with the absence of Gaurī suggested by an empty space or fading sound-waves.

Characters & Entities

• Gaurī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It teaches that true ‘hearing’ becomes meaningful when oriented to the Divine; without that presence, worldly sounds feel hollow.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśī-khaṇḍa framework glorifies Kāśī, but this verse is primarily an inner, devotional reflection rather than a site-description.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual instruction appears; the verse elevates sacred speech and listening as devotional ideals.