Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 58

Devanagari script

प्रसन्नमूर्तिं स विलोक्य शंकरं कारुण्यपूर्णं स्वमनोरथाभिदम् । आनंदसंदोहसरोनिमग्नो वक्तुं क्षणं नैव शशाक किंचित्

Transliteration

prasannamūrtiṃ sa vilokya śaṃkaraṃ kāruṇyapūrṇaṃ svamanorathābhidam | ānaṃdasaṃdohasaronimagno vaktuṃ kṣaṇaṃ naiva śaśāka kiṃcit

Translation

Als er Śaṅkara in heiterer Gestalt erblickte, von Erbarmen erfüllt und bereit, den Herzenswunsch zu erfüllen, versank er in einem See gesammelter Wonne und vermochte einen Augenblick lang kein einziges Wort zu sprechen.

Word by Word

• prasanna-mūrtim: the serene-formed (one)
• prasanna-mūrtim: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prasanna (प्रातिपदिक) + mūrti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन (he)

• vilokya: having seen
• vilokya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√lok (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभाव (gerund); ‘having seen’

• śaṃkaram: Śaṅkara
• śaṃkaram: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• kāruṇya-pūrṇam: full of compassion
• kāruṇya-pūrṇam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāruṇya (प्रातिपदिक) + pūrṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष समास; पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन; विशेषणम् (full of compassion)

• sva-manoratha-abhidam: granting one’s desired wish
• sva-manoratha-abhidam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + manoratha (प्रातिपदिक) + abhid (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-प्राय)
• Form: तत्पुरुष समास; पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन; विशेषणम् (one who fulfills one’s wish)

• ānanda-saṃdoha-saraḥ-nimagnaḥ: immersed in a lake of amassed bliss
• ānanda-saṃdoha-saraḥ-nimagnaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ānanda (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃdoha (प्रातिपदिक) + saras (प्रातिपदिक) + nimagna (कृदन्त; √maj)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष समास; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन; विशेषणम् (immersed in the lake of a mass of bliss)

• vaktum: to speak
• vaktum: Prayojana (Purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive); ‘to speak’

• kṣaṇam: for a moment
• kṣaṇam: Kāla (Temporal extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन; कालपरिमाण (for a moment)

• na: not
• na: Nishedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध

• eva: at all
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (at all/indeed)

• śaśāka: was able
• śaśāka: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śak (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect); प्रथम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• kiṃcit: anything
• kiṃcit: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kiṃcit (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन (anything)

Speaker

Narrator (Skanda Purāṇa voice, context: Skanda to Agastya in Kāśī Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmeśa (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Purāṇic audience; immediate focus on Dharmarāja’s inner state

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Dharmarāja gazes upon Śaṅkara’s serene, compassion-filled face; overwhelmed by bliss, he stands motionless, tears welling, words failing.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Śaṅkara)
• Dharmarāja (Yama)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True encounter with divine compassion can overwhelm the ego and silence speech—devotion ripens into wordless awe.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī’s sacred atmosphere is the backdrop where Śiva’s immediate, compassionate presence is experienced.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the focus is devotional experience (anubhava) arising from darśana of Śiva.