Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 115

Devanagari script

इति श्रुत्वा वचः स्कंदो मैत्रावरुणिभाषितम् । अविमुक्तस्य माहात्म्यं वक्तुं समुपचक्रमे

Transliteration

iti śrutvā vacaḥ skaṃdo maitrāvaruṇibhāṣitam | avimuktasya māhātmyaṃ vaktuṃ samupacakrame

Translation

So hörte Skanda die Worte, die Maitrāvaruṇi gesprochen hatte, und begann daraufhin, die Größe (Māhātmya) von Avimukta zu verkünden.

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इति-शब्दः (quotative particle: “thus”)

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Kriya (पूर्वकालिक क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); श्रु-धातोः; “having heard”

• वचः: speech, words
• वचः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वचस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया/प्रथमा एकवचन (acc./nom. sg.; here object)

• स्कन्दः: Skanda
• स्कन्दः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्कन्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (nominative singular)

• मैत्रावरुणि-भाषितम्: spoken by Maitrāvaruṇi
• मैत्रावरुणि-भाषितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मैत्रावरुणि (प्रातिपदिक) + भाषित (कृदन्त, √भाष्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मैत्रावरुणेः भाषितम् = spoken by Maitrāvaruṇi)

• अविमुक्तस्य: of Avimukta (Kāśī)
• अविमुक्तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अविमुक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी एकवचन (genitive singular)

• माहात्म्यम्: greatness, glory
• माहात्म्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (accusative singular)

• वक्तुम्: to speak
• वक्तुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: तुमुनन्त (infinitive); वच्-धातोः; “to speak”

• समुपचक्रमे: began, undertook
• समुपचक्रमे: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+उप+क्रम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद-आत्मनेपद?); आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष एकवचन; “began/undertook” (perfect)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual), with Skanda as the one who begins speaking

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya (contextually, as the dialogue continues into the next adhyāya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A seated Skanda, attentive after hearing Maitrāvaruṇi, turns to begin the Avimukta-māhātmya; sages gathered in a forest-āśrama setting, with a symbolic glimpse of Kāśī’s ghāṭas or a liṅga-emblem in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Maitrāvaruṇi
• Avimukta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It signals a shift into the Avimukta Māhātmya, framing Kāśī as a uniquely salvific sacred space.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Avimukta (the liberation-bestowing sacred region of Kāśī).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is a narrative transition announcing the forthcoming māhātmya.