Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

पाताले चंपकावत्यां नगर्यां सास्ति सांप्रतम् । हाटकेशात्समागच्छंस्तया हंसाश्रुनेत्रया

Transliteration

pātāle caṃpakāvatyāṃ nagaryāṃ sāsti sāṃpratam | hāṭakeśātsamāgacchaṃstayā haṃsāśrunetrayā

Translation

Gegenwärtig ist sie in Pātāla, in der Stadt namens Campakāvatī. Als ich von Hāṭakeśa her kam, begegnete ich ihr—ihre Augen waren von strömenden Tränen erfüllt.

Word by Word

• pātāle: in Pātāla (netherworld)
• pātāle: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pātāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन (loc. sg.)

• caṃpakāvatyām: in Campakāvatī
• caṃpakāvatyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caṃpakāvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन (loc. sg.)

• nagaryām: in the city
• nagaryām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nagarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन (loc. sg.)

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (fem. nom. sg.)

• asti: is / exists
• asti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस्)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (3rd sg. pres.)

• sāṃpratam: now / at present
• sāṃpratam: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sāṃprata (अव्ययार्थ-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण) (indecl. adverb)

• hāṭakeśāt: from Hāṭakeśa
• hāṭakeśāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hāṭakeśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन (abl. sg.)

• samāgacchan: coming / arriving
• samāgacchan: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (गम्) with sam-ā-
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (pres. act. ptcp. masc. nom. sg.)

• tayā: with her
• tayā: Saha (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (सह/करण), एकवचन (fem. instr. sg.)

• haṃsa-aśru-netrayā: with eyes full of swan-like tears (tear-filled eyes)
• haṃsa-aśru-netrayā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: haṃsa (प्रातिपदिक) + aśru (प्रातिपदिक) + netra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि—‘हंसाश्रूणि नेत्रे यस्याः सा’ (fem. instr. sg.)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Campakāvatī (mythic) / Hāṭakeśa (toponymic)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The king in the frame dialogue

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In the jeweled underworld city Campakāvatī, the abducted girl is seen with tear-filled eyes; the narrator arrives from Hāṭakeśa and encounters her in sorrow.

Characters & Entities

• Pātāla
• Campakāvatī
• Hāṭakeśa
• Malayagandhinī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇas map multiple worlds to show that dharma and compassion must reach even the ‘lower’ realms where beings suffer.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly Kāśī through the Kāśīkhaṇḍa context; the verse itself names Campakāvatī in Pātāla and Hāṭakeśa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it provides location and the emotional state of the afflicted maiden.