Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 89

Devanagari script

ततोति चंडश्चंडाशुः पित्रोरतिभयंकरः । अहो यदुच्यते लोकैरुपाख्यानमिदं हि तत्

Transliteration

tatoti caṃḍaścaṃḍāśuḥ pitroratibhayaṃkaraḥ | aho yaducyate lokairupākhyānamidaṃ hi tat

Translation

Darauf traten Caṇḍa und Caṇḍāśu hervor, überaus furchterregend für ihre Eltern. Wahrlich, dies ist eben jene Erzählung, die die Leute als wohlbekannte Legende berichten.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/thereupon
• tataḥ: Avyaya (Discourse/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अपादान/क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (then/from there)

• iti: thus
• iti: Avyaya (Quotative/इति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/इति-चिह्नार्थक-अव्यय (quotative)

• caṃḍaḥ: Caṇḍa (a person)
• caṃḍaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caṃḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• caṃḍāśuḥ: Caṇḍāśu (a person)
• caṃḍāśuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caṃḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + āśu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘चण्डः (अत्युग्रः) आशीः/आशुः (शीघ्रः)’—नामरूपेण

• pitroḥ: of (my) two parents
• pitroḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), द्विवचन; ‘of the two parents’

• ati-bhayaṃkaraḥ: extremely terrifying
• ati-bhayaṃkaraḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati (अव्यय-उपसर्गवत्) + bhayaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः/अव्ययीभावपूर्वक-समासभावः ‘अतिशयेन भयङ्करः’

• aho: ah!/alas!
• aho: Sambodhana/Exclamation (उद्गार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: aho (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्गारार्थक-अव्यय (exclamation)

• yat: which/that (which)
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक ‘that which’

• ucyate: is said
• ucyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive) ‘is said’

• lokaiḥ: by people
• lokaiḥ: Kartr̥ (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; कर्तृ-करणभावे (agent in passive)

• upākhyānam: story/legend
• upākhyānam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upākhyāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• idam: this
• idam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतौ/निश्चये-अव्यय (indeed/for)

• tat: that
• tat: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (narratorial aside) to Agastya (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sudden, ominous turn: the birth/appearance of two fearsome figures, Caṇḍa and Caṇḍāśu, terrifying even their parents; villagers later recount the legend.

Characters & Entities

• Caṇḍa
• Caṇḍāśu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic ‘upākhyānas’ preserve moral memory—stories of fearsome outcomes warn against adharma and disorder.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tirtha is named in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.