Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

साहाय्यं प्राप्य राजर्षेर्दिवोदासस्य पद्मभूः । इयाज दशभिः काश्यामश्वमेधैर्महामखैः

Transliteration

sāhāyyaṃ prāpya rājarṣerdivodāsasya padmabhūḥ | iyāja daśabhiḥ kāśyāmaśvamedhairmahāmakhaiḥ

Translation

وبعد أن نال معونةَ الرّاجَرشي ديفوداسا، أقام بادْمَبهو (براهما) في كاشي عشرةَ أشفاميدها، وهي محافلُ يَجْنَا عظيمةٌ سامية.

Word by Word

• साहाय्यम्: help, assistance
• साहाय्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साहाय्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• प्राप्य: having obtained
• प्राप्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्र-आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having obtained’

• राजर्षेः: of the royal sage
• राजर्षेः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजर्षि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; समास: राजन् + ऋषि (तत्पुरुष)

• दिवोदासस्य: of Divodāsa
• दिवोदासस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवोदास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पद्मभूः: Padmabhū (Brahmā)
• पद्मभूः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद्मभू (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि: पद्मे भूः यस्य सः (one whose origin is in a lotus)

• इयाज: performed (sacrifices)
• इयाज: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: यज् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्षभूत/perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• दशभिः: with ten
• दशभिः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दशन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग (संख्यावाचक), तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन

• काश्याम्: in Kāśī
• काश्याम्: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• अश्वमेधैः: by Aśvamedha sacrifices
• अश्वमेधैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वमेध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन; समास: अश्व + मेध (तत्पुरुष)

• महामखैः: great (sacrificial rites)
• महामखैः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महामख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय: महान् मखः (great sacrifice)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Daśāśvamedha (emergent identity in this narrative)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā (Padmabhū) presides over a grand Aśvamedha in Kāśī, with Divodāsa as royal patron; blazing altars, priests chanting, the sacrificial horse, and the Gaṅgā-side skyline of the kṣetra.

Characters & Entities

• Divodāsa
• Padmabhū (Brahmā)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Aśvamedha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the highest Vedic rites find their fullest sanctity in Kāśī, revealing the unique spiritual supremacy of the kṣetra.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

The passage sets the foundation for the Daśāśvamedha sacred area in Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), associated with ten Aśvamedhas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The Aśvamedha (horse-sacrifice), described as a mahāmakha (great Vedic sacrifice), performed ten times in Kāśī.