Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

ततोपि स मया प्रोक्तः स्वप्नो मिथ्याऽशुचिष्मताम् । भवादृशाममिथ्यैव स्वाख्या सदृशवर्तिनाम्

Transliteration

tatopi sa mayā proktaḥ svapno mithyā'śuciṣmatām | bhavādṛśāmamithyaiva svākhyā sadṛśavartinām

Translation

Dennoch sprach ich zu ihm: «Für Unreine ist der Traum trügerisch; doch für solche wie dich—die in einer dem eigenen edlen Wesen gemäßen Art verweilen—ist meine Selbstoffenbarung niemals falsch».

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb): 'thereafter'

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle): 'even'

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; अस्मद्-शब्द

• proktaḥ: told
• proktaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra + √vac (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त: 'told/said'

• svapnaḥ: dream
• svapnaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svapna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• mithyā: false
• mithyā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mithyā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb): 'false'

• aśuciṣmatām: of the impure (people)
• aśuciṣmatām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-śuciṣmat (प्रातिपदिक; a- + śuciṣmat)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; मतुप्-प्रत्ययान्त (possessive): 'of the impure ones'

• bhavādṛśām: of people like you
• bhavādṛśām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + dṛś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहिः: 'भवदृशाः' = 'those like you'

• a-mithyā: not false (true)
• a-mithyā: Karta (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-mithyā (प्रातिपदिक; negated)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (to 'svākhyā'): 'not false/true'

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण/emphasis particle)

• svākhyā: (their) true account/statement
• svākhyā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: su (उपसर्ग) + ākhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः: 'सु-आख्या' = 'good report/true statement'

• sadṛśa-vartinām: of those who act in accordance (with their nature)
• sadṛśa-vartinām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sadṛśa (प्रातिपदिक) + vartin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः: 'सदृशे वर्तन्ते ये' = 'those who behave accordingly'

Speaker

Caṇḍikā (Devī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra (truth of prādurbhāva)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī speaks with compassionate authority, one hand raised in teaching (upadeśa-mudrā), the other in blessing; Vasiṣṭha listens attentively. The background shifts from mist to clarity—symbolizing the transition from ‘dream’ to ‘truth’ through purity.

Characters & Entities

• Caṇḍikā (Devī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual purity makes divine encounter veridical; impurity breeds distortion and disbelief.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī’s Kedāra-kṣetra context, where divine manifestation is affirmed as real.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse implies śauca (purity) and dharmic living as prerequisites for true darśana.