Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 83

Devanagari script

पुनःपुनश्च तत्क्षेत्रमतिथीकृत्यनेत्रयोः । विचित्रं च पवित्रं च तृप्तिं नाधिजगाम ह

Transliteration

punaḥpunaśca tatkṣetramatithīkṛtyanetrayoḥ | vicitraṃ ca pavitraṃ ca tṛptiṃ nādhijagāma ha

Translation

Wieder und wieder machte er jenes heilige kṣetra zum „Gast“ seiner Augen, indem er es immerfort schaute; obgleich es wundersam und reinigend war, gelangte er doch nicht zur Sättigung des Herzens.

Word by Word

• पुनःपुनः: again and again
• पुनःपुनः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनःपुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरुक्त-क्रियाविशेषण (again and again)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; ‘that’ (क्षेत्रम् इति विशेषणम्)

• क्षेत्रम्: sacred field/region
• क्षेत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• अतिथीकृत्य: having treated as a guest
• अतिथीकृत्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अतिथि-कृ (धातु; कृ) + क्त्वा (अव्ययभाव)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund); ‘having made (it) a guest’

• नेत्रयोः: in the two eyes
• नेत्रयोः: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी/सप्तमी (6th/7th Gen/Loc), द्विवचन; ‘of/in the two eyes’

• विचित्रम्: wondrous
• विचित्रम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विचित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तृप्तिम् इति कर्मविशेषणम् (as ‘varied/wondrous’)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• पवित्रम्: pure; sanctifying
• पवित्रम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पवित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तृप्तिम् इति कर्मविशेषणम्

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• तृप्तिम्: satisfaction
• तृप्तिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तृप्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध

• अधिजगाम: attained; reached
• अधिजगाम: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अधि-गम् (धातु; गम्)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ह: indeed
• ह: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphasis/indeed)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee repeatedly turns his gaze toward the same sacred panorama—ghats, temples, Gaṅgā—each time seeing new wonders; the kṣetra is personified as a guest arriving at the eyes, while the devotee remains unsated in holy longing.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī-kṣetra (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places like Kāśī inspire inexhaustible devotional longing; repeated darśana deepens purity rather than producing mere sensory satiation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśī-kṣetra as a whole (the sacred field/city), praised as both wondrous and purifying.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No fixed ritual; the act emphasized is repeated darśana—returning again and again to behold the kṣetra.