Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 88

Devanagari script

इति स्तुत्वा भगवतीं महालक्ष्मीं हरिप्रियाम् । प्रणनाम सपत्नीकः साष्टांगं दंडवन्मुनिः

Transliteration

iti stutvā bhagavatīṃ mahālakṣmīṃ haripriyām | praṇanāma sapatnīkaḥ sāṣṭāṃgaṃ daṃḍavanmuniḥ

Translation

Nachdem er so die erhabene Göttin Mahālakṣmī, die Geliebte Haris, gepriesen hatte, warf sich der Weise—zusammen mit seiner Gattin—in voller Niederwerfung, im daṇḍavat, wie ein Stab, zu Boden.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Avyaya (Quotation marker/इति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (quotative particle)

• stutvā: having praised
• stutvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: stu (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्ययभाव

• bhagavatīm: the Goddess
• bhagavatīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• mahālakṣmīm: Mahālakṣmī
• mahālakṣmīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + lakṣmī (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (महती लक्ष्मी), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• haripriyām: beloved of Hari
• haripriyām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari + priyā (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (hareḥ priyā), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• praṇanāma: bowed down
• praṇanāma: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-ṇam (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• sapatnīkaḥ: together with (his) wife
• sapatnīkaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa + patnīka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास (पत्नी सहितः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; मुनिः इति विशेषणम्

• sāṣṭāṅgam: with eight limbs (prostrating)
• sāṣṭāṅgam: Prakara (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sa + aṣṭāṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव (अष्टाङ्गैः सह/अष्टाङ्गप्रणामरूपेण), क्रियाविशेषणम्

• daṇḍavat: like a staff (fully prostrate)
• daṇḍavat: Prakara (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: daṇḍavat (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: ‘like a staff’)

• muniḥ: the sage
• muniḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextually Skanda to Agastya frame; here narrative voice describing the act)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśīkṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A venerable sage with matted hair and his wife perform full prostration before a luminous Mahālakṣmī; the ground is strewn with lotus petals, lamps flicker, and the air feels sanctified.

Characters & Entities

• Mahālakṣmī
• Hari (Viṣṇu)
• Agastya
• Lopāmudrā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion is sealed by humility—praise culminates in surrender (praṇāma), embodying reverence in action.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The act occurs within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative world of Kāśī, where such worship is portrayed as especially meritorious.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Aṣṭāṅga/daṇḍavat praṇāma (full prostration) is described as the devotional act following stuti.