Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 97

Devanagari script

वाचं जग्राह स तदा शिशुः प्रांशुमनोरथः । ध्रुव उवाच । प्रेषितो राजसेवार्थं जनन्याऽहं मुनीश्वराः

Transliteration

vācaṃ jagrāha sa tadā śiśuḥ prāṃśumanorathaḥ | dhruva uvāca | preṣito rājasevārthaṃ jananyā'haṃ munīśvarāḥ

Translation

Da ergriff jenes Kind mit hohen Sehnsüchten das Wort. Dhruva sprach: „O Herren der Weisen, meine Mutter sandte mich, um dem König zu dienen und seine Gunst zu erlangen.“

Word by Word

• vācam: speech/words
• vācam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāc (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• jagrāha: took up/uttered
• jagrāha: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √grah (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद (Parasmaipada)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम

• tadā: then
• tadā: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of time)

• śiśuḥ: the child
• śiśuḥ: Apposition (Karta-samānādhikaraṇa/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiśu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• prāṃśu-manorathaḥ: of lofty aspirations
• prāṃśu-manorathaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prāṃśu (प्रातिपदिक) + manoratha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारयः—‘prāṃśuḥ manorathaḥ yasya’/‘prāṃśu-manorathaḥ’ (having lofty desires)

• dhruvaḥ: Dhruva
• dhruvaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhruva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद (Parasmaipada)

• preṣitaḥ: sent
• preṣitaḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√iṣ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• rāja-sevā-artham: for the purpose of serving the king
• rāja-sevā-artham: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक) + sevā (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुषः—‘rājñaḥ sevāyāḥ arthaḥ’ (for the purpose of royal service)

• jananyā: by (my) mother
• jananyā: Karana (Instrument/Agent-in-passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jananī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), तृतीया (Instrumental, 3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम (1st person pronoun), प्रथमा (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• munīśvarāḥ: O lords of sages
• munīśvarāḥ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन (Vocative), बहुवचन (Plural); तत्पुरुषः—‘munīnām īśvarāḥ’

Speaker

Dhruva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: munīśvarāḥ (sages) within the story

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Dhruva, a child with lofty ambition, stands before sages and begins his candid account: sent by his mother to seek the king’s favor.

Characters & Entities

• Dhruva
• sages
• mother (Sunīti implied)
• king (Uttānapāda implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly duty and aspiration can become the very context where a deeper spiritual turning is born.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse advances the Dhruva narrative within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is autobiographical narration.