Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

आनंदकानने यानि यत्र संति षडानन । तानि लिंगस्वरूपाणि समाचक्ष्व ममाग्रतः

Transliteration

ānaṃdakānane yāni yatra saṃti ṣaḍānana | tāni liṃgasvarūpāṇi samācakṣva mamāgrataḥ

Translation

„O Ṣaḍānana, welche heiligen Erscheinungen auch immer im Ānandakānana gegenwärtig sind—erkläre sie mir hier, vor mir, als Gestalten des Liṅga.“

Word by Word

• आनन्दकानने: in the Ānandakānana (forest of bliss)
• आनन्दकानने: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आनन्द-कानन (प्रातिपदिक; आनन्द + कानन)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; स्थानवाचक अधिकरण (locative of place)

• यानि: which (things)
• यानि: Karta/Karma (Subject/Object as context)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/प्रथमा or 2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्थानवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb: where)

• सन्ति: are/exist
• सन्ति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• षडानन: O Six-faced one (Skanda)
• षडानन: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षड्-आनन (प्रातिपदिक; षड् + आनन)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; संबोधन (vocative address)

• तानि: those
• तानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/प्रथमा or 2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; निर्देशार्थ सर्वनाम (demonstrative)

• लिङ्गस्वरूपाणि: of the nature/form of liṅgas
• लिङ्गस्वरूपाणि: Karma/Predicative complement (कर्म/विशेषणार्थ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग-स्वरूप (प्रातिपदिक; लिङ्ग + स्वरूप)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/प्रथमा or 2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; विशेष्यभावे (as predicate/attribute)

• समाचक्ष्व: tell/explain (clearly)
• समाचक्ष्व: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• मम: of me / my
• मम: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive: of me)

• अग्रतः: in front (of)
• अग्रतः: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अग्रतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्थानवाचक (in front of)

Speaker

Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandakānana (within Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya/Kumbhaja (frame listener, implied by next verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A seeker addresses Ṣaḍānana (Skanda) within the verdant Ānandakānana of Kāśī, requesting an enumeration of the grove’s liṅga-manifestations; background shows clustered shrines, bilva trees, and pilgrims.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Skanda (Ṣaḍānana)
• Ānandakānana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage knowledge is also theology: tīrthas are to be understood as embodied divine signs (liṅga-svarūpa) within sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ānandakānana—the sacred grove-region of Kāśī celebrated as filled with liṅga manifestations.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it requests authoritative explanation, which supports correct worship and pilgrimage practice.