Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

त्रिकालं योजयेन्नित्यमेतत्स्तोत्रद्वयंशुभम् । किंजप्तैर्बहुभिः स्तोत्रैश्चंचलश्रीप्रदैर्नृणाम्

Transliteration

trikālaṃ yojayennityametatstotradvayaṃśubham | kiṃjaptairbahubhiḥ stotraiścaṃcalaśrīpradairnṛṇām

Translation

Man soll dieses glückverheißende Hymnenpaar stets zu den drei Tageszeiten üben. Was nützt es den Menschen, viele andere Hymnen zu rezitieren, die nur wankenden, unbeständigen Wohlstand verleihen?

Word by Word

• tri-kālam: at the three times (morning/noon/evening)
• tri-kālam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावः; adverb—‘त्रिकालम्’ (at the three times)

• yojayet: should practice/perform
• yojayet: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yuj (युज्) (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; ‘should apply/should practice’

• nityam: always
• nityam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• etat: this
• etat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; used adjectivally

• stotra-dvayam: the pair of hymns
• stotra-dvayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: stotra (प्रातिपदिक) + dvaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘स्तोत्रयोः द्वयम्’ (two hymns)

• śubham: auspicious
• śubham: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; qualifies stotra-dvayam

• kim: what (is the use)
• kim: Prayojana (Rhetorical/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रश्नार्थक-प्रयोगः; interrogative particle ‘what use?’

• japtaiḥ: by recited (ones)
• japtaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jap (जप्) (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), तृतीया (3), बहुवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग; instrumental—‘by recited (hymns)’

• bahubhiḥ: many
• bahubhiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; adjective qualifying stotraiḥ

• stotraiḥ: with hymns
• stotraiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: stotra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; conjunction (समुच्चय)

• cañcala-śrī-pradaiḥ: granting unstable prosperity
• cañcala-śrī-pradaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cañcala (प्रातिपदिक) + śrī (प्रातिपदिक) + prada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘चञ्चला श्रीः यस्य/यां प्रददाति’ → ‘giving fickle prosperity’; qualifies stotraiḥ

• nṛṇām: of men
• nṛṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee chooses a single sacred manuscript labeled ‘stotra-dvaya’ while many ornate scrolls around him glitter with coins and fading flowers; the chosen text emits a steady light, symbolizing stable śubha vs. cañcala-śrī.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Prefer steady, liberation-oriented devotion over practices aimed at temporary worldly gain.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching supports the Kāśī-centered stotra tradition in this chapter, though Kāśī is not named in the verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Chant the auspicious stotra-dvaya at tri-kāla (three daily times).