Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

इति वाचं निशम्येशः परोपकृतिशालिनीम् । सुलक्षणाया नितरां तुतोष प्रणतार्तिहा

Transliteration

iti vācaṃ niśamyeśaḥ paropakṛtiśālinīm | sulakṣaṇāyā nitarāṃ tutoṣa praṇatārtihā

Translation

Als der Herr diese Worte vernahm, so reich an Sorge für andere, war er—der den Kummer der sich Ergebenden tilgt—überaus erfreut über Sulakṣaṇā.

Word by Word

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

• वाचम्: speech, words
• वाचम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाच् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• निशम्य: having heard
• निशम्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-शम् (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यबन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); “having heard”

• ईशः: the Lord
• ईशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन

• परोपकृतिशालिनीम्: endowed with helping others
• परोपकृतिशालिनीम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परोपकृति (प्रातिपदिक; पर-उपकृति) + शालिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying वाचम्)

• सुलक्षणायाः: of Sulakṣaṇā
• सुलक्षणायाः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुलक्षणा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• नितराम्: exceedingly
• नितराम्: Kriya-viseshana (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नितरम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (intensifier)

• तुतोष: was pleased
• तुतोष: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तुष् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परिपूर्णभूत/Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• प्रणतार्तिहा: destroyer of the distress of the bowed (devotees)
• प्रणतार्तिहा: Apposition (Karta-samānādhikaraṇa/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रणत (कृदन्त) + आर्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + हन् (धातु) → हा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; उपाधि/विशेषणरूपेण ईशस्य

Speaker

Skanda (narrator) describing Śiva’s response

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva, serene and radiant, listens approvingly as Sulakṣaṇā speaks with compassionate resolve; Pārvatī stands nearby, attentive to the exchange.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Sulakṣaṇā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine pleasure is especially won by selfless compassion; surrender and benevolence draw Śiva’s grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the overarching sacred setting; the verse highlights the ethos of the kṣetra—mercy that swiftly reaches the devoted.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it emphasizes inner disposition—paropakāra and śaraṇāgati (surrender).