Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 92

Devanagari script

अथ नंदी समागत्य प्रोवाच वृषभध्वजम् । नमस्कृत्य प्रहृष्टास्यः प्रबद्धकरसंपुटः

Transliteration

atha naṃdī samāgatya provāca vṛṣabhadhvajam | namaskṛtya prahṛṣṭāsyaḥ prabaddhakarasaṃpuṭaḥ

Translation

Dann kam Nandin und sprach zum Herrn mit dem Stierbanner. Nachdem er sich verneigt hatte, mit freudigem Antlitz und ehrfürchtig gefalteten Händen, richtete er seine Worte an Ihn.

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अनन्तर (then)

• नन्दी: Nandin
• नन्दी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्दिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• समागत्य: having arrived
• समागत्य: Kriya (पूर्वकर्म/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), पूर्वकाल (having come/arrived)

• प्रोवाच: said
• प्रोवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्ष-भूत/Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (3rd person singular)

• वृषभध्वजम्: him whose banner is the bull (Śiva)
• वृषभध्वजम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषभ (प्रातिपदिक) + ध्वज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Singular); बहुव्रीहि (वृषभः ध्वजः यस्य सः)

• नमस्कृत्य: having bowed/saluted
• नमस्कृत्य: Kriya (पूर्वकर्म/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नमस् + कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), पूर्वकाल (having saluted)

• प्रहृष्टास्यः: with a delighted face
• प्रहृष्टास्यः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रहृष्ट (प्रातिपदिक) + आस्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular); कर्मधारय (प्रहृष्टम् आस्यं यस्य)

• प्रबद्धकरसंपुटः: with hands joined (in a folded-palm gesture)
• प्रबद्धकरसंपुटः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रबद्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + कर (प्रातिपदिक) + संपुट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular); बहुव्रीहि (प्रबद्धः कर-संपुटः यस्य)

Speaker

Skanda (narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śiva (Vṛṣabhadhvaja)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Nandin returns, face bright with joy, hands folded; he bows to Śiva (bull-bannered), who sits composed; the moment is intimate—devotion expressed through posture.

Characters & Entities

• Nandin
• Vṛṣabhadhvaja (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverent approach—bowing and folded hands—models the devotional posture for approaching the divine.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Kāśī setting connected to Muktimaṇḍapa is implied, not a separate tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicit devotional practice: namaskāra (prostration) and añjali (joined hands) as marks of reverence.