Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

यथात्मविद्या विद्यानां स्त्रीणां गौरी यथोत्तमा । सर्वर्दवेगणानां च यथा त्वं पुरुषोत्तम

Transliteration

yathātmavidyā vidyānāṃ strīṇāṃ gaurī yathottamā | sarvardavegaṇānāṃ ca yathā tvaṃ puruṣottama

Translation

Wie die Selbsterkenntnis (ātma-vidyā) die höchste unter den Erkenntnissen ist und Gaurī die Erste unter den Frauen; und wie Du, o Puruṣottama, erhaben bist über alle göttlichen Scharen—so ist auch das Gepriesene das Vornehmste.

Word by Word

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (comparative particle: 'as/just as')

• ātma-vidyā: Self-knowledge
• ātma-vidyā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक) + vidyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ātman-ṣaṣṭhī: 'knowledge of the Self')

• vidyānām: of knowledges
• vidyānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); बहुवचन

• strīṇām: of women
• strīṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); बहुवचन

• gaurī: Gaurī (Pārvatī)
• gaurī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaurī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (comparative particle)

• uttamā: the best
• uttamā: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; विशेषणम् (superlative adjective)

• sarva-rda-vegaṇānām: of all the groups (as transmitted)
• sarva-rda-vegaṇānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + rda (प्रातिपदिक) + vegaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (समूहवाचक); षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः (as transmitted; likely 'sarva-deva-gaṇānām' in sense)

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

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• puruṣottama: O best of men
• puruṣottama: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puruṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative); एकवचन; कर्मधारयः ('best among men')

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (implied) / Gaṅgā-tīrtha (contextual lead-in)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Primary interlocutor of Kāśīkhaṇḍa (traditionally a rishi/assembly; chapter-context dependent)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A hymn-like tableau: personified Vidyā as a radiant ascetic insight (ātma-vidyā), Gaurī enthroned as the foremost śakti, and Puruṣottama presiding over divine hosts—an allegorical triad culminating in the implied supremacy of the sacred reality being praised.

Characters & Entities

• Ātmavidyā
• Gaurī (Pārvatī)
• Puruṣottama

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text ranks spiritual excellences (self-knowledge, divine archetypes) to underscore the unsurpassed greatness of the praised sacred domain.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

By the surrounding Gaṅgā-māhātmya context, the superiority being established pertains to Gaṅgā and her tīrtha-status in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it is a doctrinal praise using theological exemplars.