Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

स्कंद उवाच । गभस्तिमालिनिगते काशीं त्रैलोक्यमोहिनीम् । पुनश्चिंतामवापोच्चैर्मंदरस्थो मुने हरः

Transliteration

skaṃda uvāca | gabhastimālinigate kāśīṃ trailokyamohinīm | punaściṃtāmavāpoccairmaṃdarastho mune haraḥ

Translation

Skanda sprach: Als der Strahlende (die Sonne) fortgegangen war, verfiel Hara—auf dem Berge Mandara wohnend, o Weiser—erneut in tiefes Sinnen über Kāśī, die Betörerin der drei Welten.

Word by Word

• skaṃdaḥ: Skanda
• skaṃdaḥ: Karta (Speaker/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: skanda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘उवाच’ = said

• gabhastimālini-gate: when Gabhastimālinī had departed / in the departure of Gabhastimālinī
• gabhastimālini-gate: Adhikaraṇa (Locative absolute-like setting)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gabhasti (प्रातिपदिक) + mālinī (प्रातिपदिक) + gata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, गम् धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः: गभस्तिमालिन्याम् गते (when/after [she] with a garland of rays had gone)

• kāśīm: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• kāśīm: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• trailokya-mohinīm: enchanting the three worlds
• trailokya-mohinīm: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of kāśīm)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक) + mohinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः: त्रैलोक्यं मोहयति इति (enchantress of the three worlds)

• punaḥ: again
• punaḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = adverb; पुनः = again

• cintām: thought, anxiety
• cintām: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cintā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• avāpa: experienced, obtained
• avāpa: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava-āp (धातु)
• Form: लिट्/लुङ्-रूप (आख्यात-प्रयोग), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘अवाप’ = obtained/experienced

• uccaiḥ: greatly
• uccaiḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: uccais (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = adverb; उच्चैः = greatly/aloud/highly

• maṃdara-sthaḥ: dwelling on Mandara (mountain)
• maṃdara-sthaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of haraḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: maṃdara (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, स्था धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः: मन्दरस्थः = Mandara-mountain-dwelling

• mune: O sage
• mune: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• haraḥ: Hara (Śiva)
• haraḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta Kshetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Muni (unnamed sage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At sunset, the Sun’s radiance fades; on Mount Mandara, Shiva sits in yogic posture, absorbed in thought of Kāśī, while Skanda narrates to a sage.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Hara (Śiva)
• Mandara
• Sūrya (implied by gabhastimālin)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s sanctity is so supreme that even Śiva’s mind turns toward it—teaching the unique spiritual magnetism of the holy city.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a whole, praised as a transcendent sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None here; it introduces a narrative turn highlighting Kāśī’s irresistible greatness.