Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 89

Devanagari script

ततस्तं तनयः पृष्ट्वा पितरं प्रणिपत्य च । जगाम तूर्णं तपसे श्रीमद्वाराणसीं पुरीम्

Transliteration

tatastaṃ tanayaḥ pṛṣṭvā pitaraṃ praṇipatya ca | jagāma tūrṇaṃ tapase śrīmadvārāṇasīṃ purīm

Translation

Then the son, having questioned his father and bowed down to him, swiftly set out to undertake austerities in the illustrious city of Vārāṇasī.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध-क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable adverb): ‘thereupon/then’

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• tanayaḥ: the son
• tanayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• pṛṣṭvā: having asked
• pṛṣṭvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (पूर्वक्रिया/Adverbial participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prach (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having asked’

• pitaram: father
• pitaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• praṇipatya: having prostrated
• praṇipatya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (पूर्वक्रिया/Adverbial participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√nam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having bowed down/prostrated’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction): समुच्चय (and)

• jagāma: went
• jagāma: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tūrṇam: quickly
• tūrṇam: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tūrṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): शीघ्रार्थे (quickly)

• tapase: for austerity
• tapase: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (Dative/4th), एकवचन

• śrīmat-vārāṇasīm: the glorious Vārāṇasī
• śrīmat-vārāṇasīm: Karma (Goal as object/गन्तव्य-कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrīmat (प्रातिपदिक) + vārāṇasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—‘श्रीमती वारणसी’

• purīm: city
• purīm: Karma (Apposition to destination/गन्तव्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (contextual, Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vārāṇasī (Kāśī/Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devoted son bows at his father’s feet, then departs swiftly toward the luminous city of Kāśī, carrying ascetic resolve; distant ghāṭas and temple spires suggested on the horizon.

Characters & Entities

• Vārāṇasī
• Kārdama (implied by context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverence to one’s elders and purposeful tapas undertaken in a sacred kṣetra are presented as direct pathways to divine grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śrī Vārāṇasī (Kāśī), praised as an auspicious city for performing austerities.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the verse emphasizes going to Kāśī for tapas (austerity).