Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

असिधारं गिरिं प्राप्य वशिष्ठस्य तपस्विनः । गुरुर्हिरण्यगर्भाख्यः पंचत्वमगमत्तदा

Transliteration

asidhāraṃ giriṃ prāpya vaśiṣṭhasya tapasvinaḥ | gururhiraṇyagarbhākhyaḥ paṃcatvamagamattadā

Translation

Als der Asket Vasiṣṭha den Berg Asidhāra erreichte, erlangte sein Guru namens Hiraṇyagarbha damals das pañcatva—er ging in die fünf Elemente ein (das heißt, er verschied).

Word by Word

• असिधारम्: Asidhāra (name of a mountain)
• असिधारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असि (प्रातिपदिक) + धार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (असेः धार इव/असेः धारः) नामरूपेण पर्वतनाम

• गिरिम्: mountain
• गिरिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्राप्य: having reached
• प्राप्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु) + ल्यप्
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), 'having reached'

• वशिष्ठस्य: of Vasiṣṭha
• वशिष्ठस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वशिष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तपस्विनः: of the ascetic
• तपस्विनः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस्विन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (apposition to वशिष्ठस्य)

• गुरुः: the teacher
• गुरुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• हिरण्यगर्भाख्यः: named Hiraṇyagarbha
• हिरण्यगर्भाख्यः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हिरण्यगर्भ (प्रातिपदिक) + आख्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (हिरण्यगर्भ इति आख्यः = named Hiraṇyagarbha)

• पञ्चत्वम्: death; dissolution into the five elements
• पञ्चत्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या) + त्व (तद्धित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (पञ्चानां भावः/समूहः), 'state of five elements' (i.e., death)

• अगमत्: went/attained
• अगमत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/past), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kriya-viseshana (Temporal adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (temporal adverb: 'then')

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Asidhāra-giri (on Kedāra route)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣi-audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vasiṣṭha, austere and radiant, arrives at a sharp, blade-like mountain ridge (Asidhāra). Nearby, the guru Hiraṇyagarbha lies in yogic composure as the body returns to the elements; surrounding ascetics witness in silence.

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• Hiraṇyagarbha
• Asidhāra (mountain)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage narratives frame death as sacred transition; the guru’s pañcatva becomes part of the tīrtha’s dharma-story.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mount Asidhāra, appearing as a sacred waypoint within the Kedāra–Kailāsa sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; it records a pivotal event (pañcatva) in the pilgrimage account.