Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

इति श्रुत्वा वचः सोथ मेघगंभीर निःस्वनम् । अवग्रहपरिम्लान सस्यसंजीवनोपमम्

Transliteration

iti śrutvā vacaḥ sotha meghagaṃbhīra niḥsvanam | avagrahaparimlāna sasyasaṃjīvanopamam

Translation

Als er jene Worte vernommen hatte, hörte er darauf einen Klang, tief wie Donnerwolken, gleich dem Wiedererwachen der Saat, die in der Dürre welkte.

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Discourse marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/समाप्ति-बोधक अव्यय (quotative particle)

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having heard)

• वचः: speech, words
• वचः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वचस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अथ: then
• अथ: Kala/Desha (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (sequence/transition particle)

• मेघगंभीर: deep like a cloud
• मेघगंभीर: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मेघ + गंभीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; उपमान-तत्पुरुषः (मेघवत् गंभीरः) विशेषण (निःस्वनम्)

• निःस्वनम्: sound, resonance
• निःस्वनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निःस्वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• अवग्रहपरिम्लान: (that) had withered due to drought/withholding of rain
• अवग्रहपरिम्लान: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अवग्रह + परिम्लान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (अवग्रहात् परिम्लानः/अवग्रह-परिम्लानः) विशेषण (निःस्वनम्)

• सस्यसंजीवनोपमम्: like the reviving of crops
• सस्यसंजीवनोपमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सस्य + संजीवन + उपम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (सस्यानां संजीवनम् इव उपमम्) विशेषण (निःस्वनम्)

Speaker

Skanda (to Agastya, deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Budheśvara (Kāśī)

Type: temple

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sanctum filled with resonant, thunder-deep vibration; outside, dark monsoon clouds gather and rain revives withered fields—shown as metaphorical overlay; the devotee appears moved and renewed.

Characters & Entities

• Budha
• Śiva (implied by the preceding speech)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine assurance restores the devotee like rain revives drought-struck fields—grace renews life and purpose.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Within the Kāśī setting, the experience is tied to the Budheśvara-liṅga episode, underscoring Kāśī’s immediacy of grace.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it poetically describes the transformative effect of Śiva’s response.