Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

महामहोत्सवः सर्वैः पुरौकोभिर्वितन्यते । तस्मिन्प्रशासति भुवं संप्राप्ते हरिवासरे

Transliteration

mahāmahotsavaḥ sarvaiḥ puraukobhirvitanyate | tasminpraśāsati bhuvaṃ saṃprāpte harivāsare

Translation

Als jener König die Erde regierte und der Hari geweihte Tag herankam, wurde von allen Stadtbewohnern ein großes Fest begangen.

Word by Word

• mahāmahotsavaḥ: a great festival
• mahāmahotsavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + mahotsava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय: महान् महोत्सवः

• sarvaiḥ: by all
• sarvaiḥ: Karana (Agent/instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• puraukobhiḥ: by the city-dwellers
• puraukobhiḥ: Karana (Agent/instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pura (प्रातिपदिक) + oka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: पुरस्य ओकः (city-dweller)

• vitanyate: is spread/celebrated
• vitanyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi + tan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

• tasmin: when/in that (king)
• tasmin: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• praśāsati: rules/governs
• praśāsati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + śās (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• bhuvam: the earth/land
• bhuvam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhuvi/bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• saṃprāpte: when (it) has arrived
• saṃprāpte: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + √prāp (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute)

• harivāsare: on Hari’s day
• harivāsare: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक) + vāsara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: हरेः वासरः

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative, typically Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bustling Kāśī street-festival on Hari’s day: decorated doorways, lamp rows, conch and drum processions, devotees carrying tulasī and banners, temple spires in the background, and the king’s orderly presence ensuring dharma.

Characters & Entities

• Hari
• Mitrajit (contextual king)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Collective devotion (public festival) strengthens dharma and turns sacred time into shared spiritual merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī’s sacred civic life as depicted in Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where devotion becomes a public culture.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Celebration of Hari-vāsara as a mahotsava (grand devotional festival).