Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

गणावूचतुः । शिवशर्मन्महाभाग लोक एष कलानिधेः । पीयूषवर्षिभिर्यस्य करैराप्याय्यते जगत्

Transliteration

gaṇāvūcatuḥ | śivaśarmanmahābhāga loka eṣa kalānidheḥ | pīyūṣavarṣibhiryasya karairāpyāyyate jagat

Translation

Die Diener sprachen: „O glückseliger Śivaśarmā, dies ist das Reich des Herrn der kalā (des Mondes). Mit seinen nektarregnenden Strahlen wird die ganze Welt genährt und erquickt.“

Word by Word

• gaṇau: the two gaṇas (attendants)
• gaṇau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), द्विवचन (Dual)

• ūcatuḥ: said/spoke
• ūcatuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), द्विवचन (Dual), परस्मैपद

• śivaśarman: O Śivaśarman
• śivaśarman: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śivaśarman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative/8th), एकवचन (Singular)

• mahābhāga: O greatly fortunate one
• mahābhāga: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + bhāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative/8th), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (qualifier)

• lokaḥ: the world/people
• lokaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• eṣaḥ: this
• eṣaḥ: Viśeṣya (Correlative/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• kalānidheḥ: of the treasure of digits (the Moon)
• kalānidheḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalā + nidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• pīyūṣavarṣibhiḥ: with nectar-raining
• pīyūṣavarṣibhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pīyūṣa + varṣin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषण (qualifier)

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular); सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• karaiḥ: by (his) hands/rays
• karaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• āpyāyyate: is nourished/filled
• āpyāyyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + pyā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

• jagat: the world
• jagat: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Viṣṇugaṇas (Hari’s attendants)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śivaśarmā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gaṇas address Śivaśarmā, pointing to a luminous lunar realm; moonbeams fall like nectar, cooling and reviving the world below.

Characters & Entities

• Śivaśarmā
• Soma/Candra
• Viṣṇugaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The cosmos is sustained by divine order; Soma’s grace is portrayed as nourishing nectar for the worlds.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly Kāśī, as the merit-source that enables access to such celestial realms in the narrative arc.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it identifies the loka as Somaloka and describes Soma’s nourishing rays.