Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

तत्र स्नानादिकं कृत्वा दृष्ट्वा चैवादिकेशवम् । पंचरात्रं ततः कृत्वा वैष्णवैरभिनंदितः

Transliteration

tatra snānādikaṃ kṛtvā dṛṣṭvā caivādikeśavam | paṃcarātraṃ tataḥ kṛtvā vaiṣṇavairabhinaṃditaḥ

Translation

وهناك أتمّ الاغتسال وسائر الشعائر، ونال دارشَنَ أديكيشافا. ثم أقام نسك البَنجَراترا، فكرّمه أتباع فيشنو (الڤايشنَڤا) وأثنوا عليه.

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• tatra: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of place): ‘there’

• snānādikam: bathing and other rites
• snānādikam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna + ādika (प्रातिपदिकौ)
• Form: समासः: snāna-ādika (तत्पुरुष: ‘bathing etc.’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• kṛtvā: having done
• kṛtvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive), ‘having done’

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त, ‘having seen’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction): ‘and’

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle/emphatic): ‘indeed/just’

• ādikeśavam: Ādi-Keśava
• ādikeśavam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ādi + keśava (प्रातिपदिकौ)
• Form: समासः: ādi-keśava (तत्पुरुष: ‘primeval Keśava’); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• paṃcarātram: the five-night observance (pañcarātra)
• paṃcarātram: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṃcarātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: pañca + rātra (द्विगु: ‘five nights’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘then/thereafter’

• kṛtvā: having done/observed
• kṛtvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त, ‘having done/observed’

• vaiṣṇavaiḥ: by the Vaiṣṇavas
• vaiṣṇavaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaiṣṇava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), बहुवचन

• abhinaṃditaḥ: praised/commended
• abhinaṃditaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate in passive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi- + √nand (धातु) ; abhinaṃdita (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगार्थः: ‘having been praised/celebrated’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Kāśī-khaṇḍa narrative frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ādikeśava (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vyāsa completes snāna and related rites, then stands before Ādikeśava in a temple sanctum; over subsequent days he observes Pañcarātra discipline while local Vaiṣṇavas greet and honor him with respectful gestures and offerings.

Characters & Entities

• Ādikeśava
• Vyāsa
• Vaiṣṇavas
• Vārāṇasī (context)
• Pañcarātra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī harmonizes diverse paths—Śaiva sacred geography also hosts powerful Vaiṣṇava darśana and disciplined observances.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ādikeśava in Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), a major Vaiṣṇava sacred focus within the Kāśī-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna and allied rites, darśana of Ādikeśava, and performance of a Pañcarātra (five-night) observance.