Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 95

Devanagari script

पितामहेन महतो गौरवात्प्रतिपादितम् । इति चिंतयतस्तस्य मध्यलोकशतक्रतोः

Transliteration

pitāmahena mahato gauravātpratipāditam | iti ciṃtayatastasya madhyalokaśatakratoḥ

Translation

„Dies wurde vom großen Pitāmaha aus ehrfürchtiger Verehrung verliehen und eingesetzt.“ So sann Śatakratu, der Herr der mittleren Welt, darüber nach, und die Erzählung geht weiter.

Word by Word

• pitāmahena: by the Grandfather (Brahmā)
• pitāmahena: Karta (Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitāmaha (पितामह प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular

• mahataḥ: from great
• mahataḥ: Hetu (Cause)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (महत् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular; used with gauravāt: ‘from great (respect)’

• gauravāt: out of respect
• gauravāt: Hetu (Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaurava (गौरव प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular

• pratipāditam: bestowed/assigned
• pratipāditam: Kriyā (Predicative complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prati-pad (प्रति+पद्/पादय; causative pratipādayati)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; ‘was bestowed/assigned/established’

• iti: thus
• iti: Vākyārtha-dyotaka (Marks quoted thought)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (इति अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative particle (उद्धरणार्थक अव्यय)

• ciṃtayataḥ: while he was thinking
• ciṃtayataḥ: Sambandha (Genitive absolute-like linkage)
• Type: Verb
• Root: cint (चिन्त् धातु)
• Form: Present active participle (शतृ) in Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular; ‘of (him) thinking’

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Possessor/relational)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• madhya-loka-śatakratoḥ: of Śatakratu (Indra), lord of the middle world
• madhya-loka-śatakratoḥ: Sambandha (Appositional genitive to tasya)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhya (मध्य प्रातिपदिक) + loka (लोक प्रातिपदिक) + śatakratu (शतक्रतु प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular; multi-member तत्पुरुष: ‘of the middle world’ qualifying ‘Śatakratu (Indra)’

Speaker

Narrator (within the Kāśī Khaṇḍa frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (frame typical)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra (Śatakratu), contemplative, recalls Brahmā (Pitāmaha) conferring sovereignty; a visionary overlay shows Brahmā seated on lotus, bestowing a symbol of office; the earthly scene remains in Kāśī’s atmosphere.

Characters & Entities

• Pitāmaha (Brahmā)
• Śatakratu (Indra)
• Madhyaloka (middle world)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Authority is legitimate when grounded in cosmic order and reverent transmission, not mere personal claim.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī remains the textual setting, but this verse names cosmic figures (Brahmā, Indra) rather than a local Kāśī tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; Indra’s epithet (Śatakratu) evokes sacrifice, but no specific rite is instructed here.