Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 86

Devanagari script

क्व दाक्षिणात्यं तत्कांस्यं गौडी ताम्रघटी क्व सा । नागदंतमयी सा क्व सुखकौतुकमंचिका

Transliteration

kva dākṣiṇātyaṃ tatkāṃsyaṃ gauḍī tāmraghaṭī kva sā | nāgadaṃtamayī sā kva sukhakautukamaṃcikā

Translation

Wo ist jenes südliche Bronzegefäß? Wo ist jener kupferne Topf aus Gauḍa? Wo ist jene kleine Liege aus Elfenbein, bestimmt zu Trost und Wonne?

Word by Word

• क्व: where
• क्व: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (where)

• दाक्षिणात्यम्: southern (from the Deccan)
• दाक्षिणात्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दाक्षिणात्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण-सर्वनाम

• कांस्यम्: bronze vessel/bronze (kāṃsya)
• कांस्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कांस्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• गौडी: from Gauḍa (Bengal)
• गौडी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गौडी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• ताम्रघटी: copper pot
• ताम्रघटी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ताम्र + घटि/घटी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-भावः (ताम्रस्य घटिका/ताम्र-घटी)

• क्व: where
• क्व: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (where)

• सा: that (she/it)
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• नागदन्तमयी: made of ivory
• नागदन्तमयी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नागदन्त + मयी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (नागदन्तेन मयी = made of ivory)

• सा: that (item)
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• क्व: where
• क्व: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (where)

• सुखकौतुकमंचिका: pleasant amusement couch/seat
• सुखकौतुकमंचिका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुख + कौतुक + मञ्चिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहु-तत्पुरुषः (सुखं च कौतुकं च यस्यां/यत्र = pleasant amusement couch/seat)

Speaker

Dīkṣita

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Wife

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The father lists missing vessels from the South and Gauḍa and an ivory couch; the scene becomes a still-life of absence—empty places where prized items should be.

Characters & Entities

• Dīkṣita
• Dīkṣitāyinī
• Dākṣiṇātya (South India)
• Gauḍa (Bengal)
• kāṃsya vessel
• tāmra ghaṭī
• ivory couch (nāgadanta-mañcikā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

By listing prized objects, the text implicitly contrasts material preoccupation with the higher dharma cultivated in sacred Kāśī—detachment and right conduct.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The larger composition is Kāśī-khaṇḍa (Varanasi/Kāśī), celebrated throughout as a liberating sacred landscape, though this verse itself is not a direct tīrtha eulogy.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is narrative questioning about household items.