Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

स्वाहास्वधावषट्कारवर्जिते जगतीतले । पंचयज्ञक्रियालोपाच्चकंपे भुवनत्रयम्

Transliteration

svāhāsvadhāvaṣaṭkāravarjite jagatītale | paṃcayajñakriyālopāccakaṃpe bhuvanatrayam

Translation

Als auf dem Antlitz der Erde die Rufe „svāhā“, „svadhā“ und „vaṣaṭ“ verstummten und die Handlungen der fünf großen Yajñas unterblieben, begann die Dreiwelt zu erbeben.

Word by Word

• स्वाहा: svāhā (ritual call)
• स्वाहा: Sambandha (Item in compound/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वाहा (अव्यय/मन्त्रपद)
• Form: मन्त्र-निपात (ritual exclamation)

• स्वधा: svadhā (ritual call)
• स्वधा: Sambandha (Item in compound/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वधा (अव्यय/मन्त्रपद)
• Form: मन्त्र-निपात (ritual exclamation)

• वषट्कार: vaṣaṭ-call
• वषट्कार: Sambandha (Item in compound/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वषट्कार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (stem in compound); यज्ञीय-शब्दः ‘vaṣaṭ-call’

• वर्जिते: being devoid of
• वर्जिते: Adhikarana (Locative circumstance/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर्ज् (धातु) → वर्जित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; ‘when/where (it was) devoid of’

• जगतीतले: on the surface of the earth/world
• जगतीतले: Adhikarana (Place locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगती (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जगत्याः तलम्), नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• पञ्चयज्ञक्रियालोपात्: because of the cessation of the rites of the five sacrifices
• पञ्चयज्ञक्रियालोपात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या) + यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक) + क्रिया (प्रातिपदिक) + लोप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः; ‘पञ्चयज्ञस्य क्रियायाः लोपः’ (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष), तस्मात् (पञ्चमी 5th), एकवचन; हेतौ

• चकम्पे: shook/trembled
• चकम्पे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कम्प् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• भुवनत्रयम्: the three worlds
• भुवनत्रयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भुवन (प्रातिपदिक) + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या)
• Form: द्विगु-समासः (त्रीणि भुवनानि), नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (Vyāsa continues by context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (frame implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A silent sacrificial ground: extinguished fires, priests absent, no svāhā/svadhā/vaṣaṭ heard; simultaneously the earth and heavens tremble, with beings looking around in fear.

Characters & Entities

• Pañca-mahāyajña (five great sacrifices)
• Three worlds (bhuvana-traya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Daily dharmic rites sustain cosmic balance; when yajña and duty collapse, the world itself is portrayed as destabilized.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa framework (glory of Kāśī), but it specifically emphasizes universal dharma through yajña rather than a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It references the pañca-mahāyajñas (five daily great sacrifices) and the offering formulas “svāhā,” “svadhā,” and “vaṣaṭ,” implying their obligatory continuity.