Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

यांति प्रदक्षिणीकृत्य ये भवंतं भवं विभो । भवंति तेषां कार्याणि पुरोभूतानि ते भयात्

Transliteration

yāṃti pradakṣiṇīkṛtya ye bhavaṃtaṃ bhavaṃ vibho | bhavaṃti teṣāṃ kāryāṇi purobhūtāni te bhayāt

Translation

Wer dich, o Bhava, allmächtiger Herr, in ehrfürchtiger Pradakṣiṇā umschreitet und dann weitergeht, findet seine Vorhaben schon im Voraus vollbracht, als eilten sie ihm aus Furcht vor deiner Macht entgegen.

Word by Word

• यान्ति: go
• यान्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √या (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• प्रदक्षिणी-कृत्य: having circumambulated
• प्रदक्षिणी-कृत्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रदक्षिणी (प्रातिपदिक) + √कृ (धातु) → कृत्य (क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभाव)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund); क्रियाविशेषण (having circumambulated)

• ये: those who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम

• भवन्तम्: you (honored)
• भवन्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; आदरार्थक-प्रयोग (honorific ‘you’)

• भवम्: Bhava (Śiva)
• भवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; शिवनाम

• विभो: O Lord
• विभो: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• भवन्ति: become, come to be
• भवन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• कार्याणि: tasks, affairs
• कार्याणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• पुरः-भूतानि: gone ahead, placed in front
• पुरः-भूतानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुरः (अव्यय/उपपद) + भूत (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) ‘भूत’; अव्ययीभाव-समासः (पुरः + भूत) = ‘in front/preceding’

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; निर्देशार्थक-सर्वनाम

• भयात्: from fear
• भयात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; हेतौ/कारण (from fear/because of fear)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhava-pradakṣiṇā in Kāśī (Viśveśvara precinct)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis / internal audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devotees circumambulate Śiva with folded hands; ahead of them, personified ‘tasks’ run forward as if frightened, clearing the path—an allegory of vighnas fleeing Śiva’s majesty.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Bhava)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva-worship through pradakṣiṇā brings swift, almost effortless completion of rightful aims.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), where Śiva is central and temple-circumambulation is treated as highly meritorious.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pradakṣiṇā—circumambulation of Śiva (Bhava)—as an efficacious devotional act.