Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

न खल्वयमृतोंऽडस्थ इति स्नेहादभाषत । तदा प्रभृति लोकेयं मार्तंड इति चोच्यते

Transliteration

na khalvayamṛtoṃ'ḍastha iti snehādabhāṣata | tadā prabhṛti lokeyaṃ mārtaṃḍa iti cocyate

Translation

Aus Zuneigung sprach sie: „Wahrlich, er ist nicht tot im Ei.“ Von da an wurde er in dieser Welt Mārtaṇḍa genannt.

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• khalu: indeed
• khalu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: khalu (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक/खलु-शब्दः (emphatic particle)

• ayam: this (one)
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• mṛtaḥ: dead
• mṛtaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛta (कृदन्त; √mṛ (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त-भूतकर्मणि/भूतभावे (past participle: dead)

• aṇḍa-sthaḥ: situated in the egg
• aṇḍa-sthaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (कृदन्त; √sthā (धातु) + क)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (अण्डे स्थितः)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: इति-शब्दः (quotative particle)

• snehāt: out of affection
• snehāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sneha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; हेतौ (cause)

• abhāṣata: spoke
• abhāṣata: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhāṣ (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• tadā: then
• tadā: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• prabhṛti: from (that time)
• prabhṛti: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prabhṛti (अव्यय/निपात)
• Form: अवधिवाचक-अव्यय (from, since)

• loke: in the world
• loke: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• iyam: this (name/term)
• iyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• mārtaṇḍaḥ: Mārtaṇḍa (the Sun)
• mārtaṇḍaḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārtaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; संज्ञा (proper name)

• iti: as
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: इति-शब्दः (quotative particle)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• ucyate: is called
• ucyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (passive)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa typically Skanda to Agastya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A motherly figure speaks with tender certainty toward a luminous egg (a cosmic hiraṇyāṇḍa motif), while a faint solar glow begins to emerge—signaling the naming of Mārtaṇḍa.

Characters & Entities

• Mārtaṇḍa
• Sūrya (implied)
• egg (aṇḍa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Affection and right perception transform fear into auspicious naming; divine realities are affirmed through loving recognition.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader frame is the Kāśīkhaṇḍa (glory of Kāśī), though this verse itself is a mythic-etiological aside rather than a direct tīrtha description.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse.