Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

क्वचिच्चलदलैरुच्चैः क्वचित्कांचनकेतकैः । कृतमालैर्न क्तमालैः शोभमानं क्वचित्क्वचित्

Transliteration

kvaciccaladalairuccaiḥ kvacitkāṃcanaketakaiḥ | kṛtamālairna ktamālaiḥ śobhamānaṃ kvacitkvacit

Translation

Hier und dort schmückten es hohe Bäume mit zitternden Blättern; anderswo goldene ketaka; und mancherorts glänzte es mit kṛtamāla und dem duftenden naktamāla — Schönheit, die nach allen Seiten erstrahlte.

Word by Word

• क्वचित्: somewhere
• क्वचित्: Visheshana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• चल-दलैः: with trembling leaves
• चल-दलैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चल (प्रातिपदिक) + दल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; करण; ‘चलदल’ = moving leaves

• उच्चैः: highly, aloft
• उच्चैः: Visheshana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उच्चैः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण

• क्वचित्: elsewhere
• क्वचित्: Visheshana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक

• काञ्चन-केतकैः: with golden ketaka plants
• काञ्चन-केतकैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काञ्चन (प्रातिपदिक) + केतक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; करण; ‘काञ्चनकेतक’ = golden ketaka

• कृत-मालैः: with made garlands
• कृत-मालैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त) + माला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (माला), तृतीया, बहुवचन; करण; ‘कृतमाला’ = made garlands

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• क्त-मालैः: with (so-called) ‘kta’ garlands (withered/old?)
• क्त-मालैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्त (प्रत्यय-नाम; here as adjective ‘withered/old’?) + माला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; करण; पाठे ‘क्तमालैः’ अस्पष्ट—सम्भाव्यः ‘क्लान्त/क्षत/क्त’ इत्यर्थे विशेषणम्

• शोभमानम्: shining, beautiful
• शोभमानम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ्/शोभ् (धातु) + शानच् (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शानच्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (shining/beautiful)

• क्वचित्: in some places
• क्वचित्: Visheshana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक

• क्वचित्: here and there
• क्वचित्: Visheshana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरुक्ति (kvacit-kvacit = here and there)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (sarvato-bhadrā cityscape)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sweeping city-grove montage: tall trees with quivering leaves, golden ketaka stands, garland-like kṛtamāla, and fragrant night-blooming naktamāla; the viewer’s eye moves in many directions, finding beauty everywhere.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Ketaka
• Kṛtamāla
• Naktamāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The kṣetra’s holiness is all-pervasive—wherever one turns in Kāśī, one encounters signs of auspiciousness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a landscape of continuous sacred adornment.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is descriptive, supporting the māhātmya by depicting auspicious flora.