Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

केनाध्वना च निर्यातः क्व काले कुरुतश्च किम् । कथं युगपदे तौ मे ग्राह्यौ स्वैरं भविष्यतः

Transliteration

kenādhvanā ca niryātaḥ kva kāle kurutaśca kim | kathaṃ yugapade tau me grāhyau svairaṃ bhaviṣyataḥ

Translation

„Und auf welchem Weg kommen sie heraus, zu welcher Zeit und wobei? Wie kann ich beide zugleich ergreifen, bevor sie frei umherstreifen?“

Word by Word

• kena: by which
• kena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम

• adhvanā: route, way
• adhvanā: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhvan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• niryātaḥ: (they) went out
• niryātaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nir-√yā (या धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; उपसर्गः ‘nir-’; (अत्र: ‘gone out/issued forth’)

• kva: where
• kva: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: place)

• kāle: at what time
• kāle: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• kurutaḥ: you two do
• kurutaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: लट् (परस्मैपद), मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचन; (प्रश्नार्थे)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• kim: what
• kim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम

• katham: how
• katham: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: manner)

• yugapade: simultaneously
• yugapade: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yugapad (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: simultaneously)

• tau: those two
• tau: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), द्विवचन; सर्वनाम

• me: my
• me: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• grāhyau: to be caught
• grāhyau: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √grah (ग्रह् धातु)
• Form: यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (gerundive/obligative: ‘to be seized’) पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), द्विवचन

• svairam: freely
• svairam: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svaira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb: freely/at will)

• bhaviṣyataḥ: of the two who will be (free)
• bhaviṣyataḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त भविष्यत्कृदन्त (future participle: ‘going to be’) पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), द्विवचन; ‘of the two who will be’

Speaker

Skanda (contextual narration of the hawk’s thoughts)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages (assumed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close-up of the hawk’s intense face, calculating; imagined lines/arrows showing possible routes and times around the temple; inside, the doves remain calm in the sanctum’s protective glow.

Characters & Entities

• Śyena (hawk)
• Pārāvata couple
• Durgam/refuge
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Predatory intent is shown as frustrated by the ordered, time-bound safety of sacred space.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśī sacred precinct and its Śiva-temples, understood as protective sanctuaries.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is reflective and strategic, highlighting the security of the holy refuge.