Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 63

Devanagari script

वायुभक्षणतोन्यत्र यत्पुण्यं शरदां शतम् । तत्पुण्यं घटिकार्धेन मौनं दक्षिणमंडपे

Transliteration

vāyubhakṣaṇatonyatra yatpuṇyaṃ śaradāṃ śatam | tatpuṇyaṃ ghaṭikārdhena maunaṃ dakṣiṇamaṃḍape

Translation

Das Verdienst (puṇya), das man anderswo durch Leben von Luft über hundert Herbste erlangt, wird im Südlichen Maṇḍapa (Dakṣiṇa) durch Schweigen für eine halbe ghaṭikā gewonnen.

Word by Word

• vāyu-bhakṣaṇataḥ: from (the practice of) air-eating
• vāyu-bhakṣaṇataḥ: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyu (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वायोः भक्षणम्) + तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ततः=from)

• anyatra: elsewhere
• anyatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anyatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्थानवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• yat: which
• yat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative)

• puṇyam: merit
• puṇyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• śaradām: of autumns/years
• śaradām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śarad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• śatam: a hundred
• śatam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; निर्देशक (demonstrative)

• puṇyam: merit
• puṇyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• ghaṭikā-ardhena: by (only) half a ghaṭikā
• ghaṭikā-ardhena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghaṭikā (प्रातिपदिक) + ardha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (घटिकायाः अर्धम्)

• maunam: silence (vow of silence)
• maunam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mauna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• dakṣiṇa-maṇḍape: in the southern pavilion
• dakṣiṇa-maṇḍape: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + maṇḍapa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (दक्षिणः मण्डपः)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dakṣiṇa Maṇḍapa (Kāśī)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī or the traditional Kāśī-māhātmya interlocutor (context-dependent)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A quiet southern pavilion in Kāśī: a sādhaka seated in padmāsana, lips closed in mauna, hands in jñāna-mudrā; oil lamps flicker; distant temple spires and Gaṅgā ambience implied.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Dakṣiṇa Maṇḍapa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī concentrates merit: a small inner vow (silence) there equals vast austerities elsewhere.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Dakṣiṇa Maṇḍapa in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Observing mauna (silence) for half a ghaṭikā in the Dakṣiṇa Maṇḍapa.