Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

अगस्तिरुवाच । कथं निकटतः कालो ज्ञायते हरनंदन । तानि चिह्नानि कतिचिद्ब्रूहि मे परिपृच्छतः

Transliteration

agastiruvāca | kathaṃ nikaṭataḥ kālo jñāyate haranaṃdana | tāni cihnāni katicidbrūhi me paripṛcchataḥ

Translation

Agastya sprach: „O Sohn Haras, wie erkennt man, dass die Zeit (der Tod) nahe ist? Nenne mir einige jener Zeichen, da ich dich frage.“

Word by Word

• अगस्तिः: Agastya
• अगस्तिः: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अगस्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Speech act/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद — 'said'

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Sambandha (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• निकटतः: closely, from proximity
• निकटतः: Adhikarana (Manner/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: निकट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) — 'from near/closely'

• कालः: time (death-time)
• कालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन

• ज्ञायते: is known, is recognized
• ज्ञायते: Kriya (Predicate action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; आत्मनेपद — passive sense 'is known'

• हरनन्दन: O son of Hara (Śiva)
• हरनन्दन: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हर + नन्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (हरेः नन्दनः); पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन विभक्ति; एकवचन

• तानि: those
• तानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative); बहुवचन

• चिह्नानि: signs, marks
• चिह्नानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चिह्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; बहुवचन

• कतिचित्: a few
• कतिचित्: Visheshana (Quantifier/विशेषणवत्)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कतिचित् (अव्यय/सर्वनाम)
• Form: अनिश्चितपरिमाणवाचक (indefinite quantifier) — 'some, a few'

• ब्रूहि: tell
• ब्रूहि: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative); मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person); एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• मे: to me
• मे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी एकवचन (Genitive/Dative) — here dative 'to me'

• परिपृच्छतः: of (me) who is inquiring
• परिपृच्छतः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + प्रच्छ् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ); पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति; एकवचन — 'of me who am asking'

Speaker

Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Skanda (Kumāra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sage Agastya, composed yet earnest, questions Skanda about the nearness of death; the setting suggests a sacred assembly in Kāśī with a contemplative atmosphere.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Hara
• Skanda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual urgency: recognizing mortality prompts timely dharma, detachment, and refuge in the sacred.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The dialogue occurs within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa framework, implicitly tying death-awareness to Kāśī’s mokṣa-oriented sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it initiates inquiry into diagnostic signs (cihna) of approaching death.