Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

गायंति गाथामेतां वै दैवर्षिपितरोगणाः । अपि दृग्गोचरा नः स्यात्काश्यामुत्तरवाहिनी

Transliteration

gāyaṃti gāthāmetāṃ vai daivarṣipitarogaṇāḥ | api dṛggocarā naḥ syātkāśyāmuttaravāhinī

Translation

Die Scharen der göttlichen ṛṣis und die Versammlungen der Ahnen singen eben dieses Lied: „Möge die Uttaravāhinī in Kāśī vor unsere eigenen Augen treten.“

Word by Word

• गायन्ति: sing
• गायन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गै (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद (Present indicative, 3rd person plural, Parasmaipada)

• गाथाम्: a verse/song
• गाथाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गाथा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन (Feminine, Accusative singular)

• एताम्: this
• एताम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (Feminine, Accusative singular; adjective/pronoun)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha/Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थ-निपात (emphatic particle)

• दैवर्षिपितरोगणाः: the hosts of divine seers and ancestors
• दैवर्षिपितरोगणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैवर्षि-पितृ-गण (प्रातिपदिक; दैवर्षि + पितृ + गण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative plural)

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: Sambandha/Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्भावना/अपेक्षार्थ-निपात (particle: even/also)

• दृग्गोचराः: visible (to the eyes)
• दृग्गोचराः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दृक्-गोचर (प्रातिपदिक; दृक् + गोचर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (Masculine, Nominative plural; adjective)

• नः: of us/for us
• नः: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम (Genitive plural pronoun)

• स्यात्: may be
• स्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (Optative, 3rd person singular)

• काश्याम्: in Kāśī
• काश्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (Feminine, Locative singular)

• उत्तरवाहिनी: the north-flowing (river)
• उत्तरवाहिनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तर-वाहिनी (प्रातिपदिक; उत्तर + वाहिनी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative singular)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Uttaravāhinī Gaṅgā (Kāśī)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied audience within the discourse; verse reports what devarṣis and pitṛs sing

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A celestial assembly: devarṣis with vīṇā and kamaṇḍalu, pitṛgaṇas in subtle luminous forms, all singing toward a vision of Kāśī’s north-flowing Gaṅgā; the river appears like a doorway of light.

Characters & Entities

• Devarṣis
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Kāśī
• Uttaravāhinī (Gaṅgā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Darśana (sacred sight) of the tirtha is itself a coveted blessing—so exalted that even seers and ancestors long for it.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Uttaravāhinī Gaṅgā in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A devotional act is implied: singing/reciting the gāthā (hymn) aspiring for darśana of the tirtha.