Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 47

Devanagari script

स्वर्गे वा मर्त्यलोके वा बलिसद्मनि वा मुने । क्व तदानंदगहनं यत्रानंदपयोब्धिजा

Transliteration

svarge vā martyaloke vā balisadmani vā mune | kva tadānaṃdagahanaṃ yatrānaṃdapayobdhijā

Translation

„Ist es im Himmel, oder in der Welt der Sterblichen, oder in Balis Wohnstatt, o Weiser? Wo ist jenes dichte Gehölz der Wonne, aus dem gleichsam der Ozean der Seligkeit entspringt?“

Word by Word

• स्वर्गे: in heaven
• स्वर्गे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle: 'or')

• मर्त्यलोके: in the mortal world
• मर्त्यलोके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मर्त्य (प्रातिपदिक) + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मर्त्यानां लोकः)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle)

• बलिसद्मनि: in Bali's abode
• बलिसद्मनि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बलि (प्रातिपदिक) + सद्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (बलेः सद्म = Bali's abode)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle)

• मुने: O sage
• मुने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• क्व: where
• क्व: Desha (Locative sense/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: place)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• आनन्दगहनम्: that dense thicket/forest of bliss
• आनन्दगहनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आनन्द (प्रातिपदिक) + गहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (आनन्दस्य गहनम्)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Desha (Locative sense/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्धबोधक-अव्यय (relative adverb: place)

• आनन्दपयोब्धिजा: born from the ocean of blissful milk
• आनन्दपयोब्धिजा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आनन्द (प्रातिपदिक) + पयस् (प्रातिपदिक) + अब्धि (प्रातिपदिक) + जा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (आनन्द-रूप-पयः-अब्धेः जाता = born from the ocean of blissful milk)

Speaker

Tvāṣṭra

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandagahana (Ānandavana)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: the addressed muni/tapasvin

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Tvāṣṭra gestures upward and outward, naming Svarga, Martya, and Bali’s realm, while the sage indicates an unseen ‘dense grove of bliss’ whose radiance suggests an oceanic source of ānanda.

Characters & Entities

• Svarga
• Martyaloka
• Bali
• Ānandavana/Ānandagahana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse frames Kāśī’s sanctity as surpassing ordinary cosmological realms, hinting that divine bliss is concentrated in a sacred terrestrial geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The “Ānandagahana/Ānandavana” associated with Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), celebrated as a source of overflowing bliss.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it is a locational inquiry that sets up the praise and pilgrimage-value of Kāśī.