Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

भवांतरे प्रेमपात्रमेतयैक्षितु किंचन । चिरात्तेन च संगत्य सुखमूर्च्छामवाप ह

Transliteration

bhavāṃtare premapātrametayaikṣitu kiṃcana | cirāttena ca saṃgatya sukhamūrcchāmavāpa ha

Translation

In einem anderen Leben war diese heilige Gegenwart für sie ein Gefäß der Liebe, das sie schauen durfte; und nun, nach langer Zeit, als sie ihr wieder begegnete, sank sie in eine Ohnmacht der Seligkeit.

Word by Word

• bhava-antare: in another existence (former birth)
• bhava-antare: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhava (प्रातिपदिक) + antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), सप्तमी (Loc., 7th), एकवचन (sg.); सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषः (bhavasya antare)

• prema-pātram: an object of love
• prema-pātram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prema (प्रातिपदिक) + pātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), द्वितीया (Acc., 2nd), एकवचन (sg.); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (premṇaḥ pātram)

• etayā: by her / with her
• etayā: Karana (Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), तृतीया (Instr., 3rd), एकवचन (sg.)

• īkṣituṃ: to see
• īkṣituṃ: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: īkṣ (धातु) (तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: तुमुनन्त (infinitive), धातु: ईक्ष्—‘ईक्षते/ईक्षति’

• kiṃcana: something / anything
• kiṃcana: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kiṃcana (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), द्वितीया (Acc., 2nd), एकवचन (sg.); अनिश्चित/अल्पार्थक (something/anything)

• cirāt: after a long time
• cirāt: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: cirāt (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (after a long time)

• tena: with him
• tena: Sahakari (Associate/सहकारी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instr., 3rd), एकवचन (sg.)

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

• saṃgatya: having met/associated
• saṃgatya: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-gam (धातु) (क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive), ‘सम्+गम्’

• sukha-mūrcchām: a swoon of pleasure
• sukha-mūrcchām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sukha (प्रातिपदिक) + mūrcchā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), द्वितीया (Acc., 2nd), एकवचन (sg.); कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषभावः—‘सुखरूपा मূर्च्छा’

• avāpa: attained / experienced
• avāpa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन (sg.); परस्मैपदम्; उपसर्गः अव-

• ha: indeed
• ha: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ha (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/narrative particle)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa typically Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A subtle sacred presence (deity, liṅga, saint, or holy sight) is implied; the woman, upon seeing it, collapses into a blissful swoon; attendants support her, now reverent rather than alarmed.

Characters & Entities

• Kalāvatī (implied)
• Jñānavāpī / sacred presence (context)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Past-life devotion can mature in the present; encountering a sacred presence again can trigger profound bliss and remembrance beyond the mind.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Jñānavāpī (context), portrayed as the meeting-point where long-stored devotion ripens into ecstatic experience.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse teaches through narrative—linking tīrtha-darśana with the fruition of past devotion.