Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 77

Devanagari script

अथ तौ कालयोगेन विपन्नौ सरयूतटे । मुक्तिपुर्यामयोध्यायामेको विद्याधरोऽभवत्

Transliteration

atha tau kālayogena vipannau sarayūtaṭe | muktipuryāmayodhyāyāmeko vidyādharo'bhavat

Translation

ثمّ بمرور الزمان، أصاب الاثنين سوءُ حالٍ على ضفّة نهر السرايو؛ وأمّا أحدهما فبعث من جديد في أيودهيا، مدينة الخلاص المشهورة، وصار من فئة الفيديادهارا.

Word by Word

• अथ: then; now
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (indeclinable; sequential/beginning particle)

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन (dual) (pronoun)

• कालयोगेन: by the conjunction of time; in due course
• कालयोगेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक) + योग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कालस्य योगः) (instrumental singular)

• विपन्नौ: ruined; fallen into misfortune
• विपन्नौ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + पद् (धातु) → विपन्न (कृदन्त, भूतकृदन्त/क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण (past participle)

• सरयूतटे: on the bank of the Sarayū
• सरयूतटे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरयू (प्रातिपदिक) + तट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सरय्वाः तटः) (locative singular)

• मुक्तिपुर्याम्: in the city of liberation
• मुक्तिपुर्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुक्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + पुरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मुक्तेः पुरी) (locative singular)

• अयोध्यायाम्: in Ayodhyā
• अयोध्यायाम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयोध्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (locative singular)

• एकः: one; a certain
• एकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (adjectival numeral)

• विद्याधरः: a Vidyādhara
• विद्याधरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विद्या (प्रातिपदिक) + धर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (विद्यां धरति) (nominative singular)

• अभवत्: became; was
• अभवत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (imperfect/past); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, typically Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarayū-taṭa / Ayodhyā

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two figures struck by fate on the sandy bank of the Sarayū; the narrative shifts to a luminous aerial Vidyādhara rebirth over Ayodhyā’s sacred skyline.

Characters & Entities

• Sarayū
• Ayodhyā
• Vidyādhara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Time (kāla) governs embodied fate; yet birth in a mokṣa-purī like Ayodhyā is presented as spiritually significant.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ayodhyā is praised as a mukti-purī, with the Sarayū riverbank as the narrative setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed in this verse; it establishes karmic movement and sacred geography.