Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

यूका संवीक्ष्यवीक्ष्यैव भक्षयेद्दंतकोटिभिः । गोलांगूलारक्तमुखानीलां गा यूथथनायकाः

Transliteration

yūkā saṃvīkṣyavīkṣyaiva bhakṣayeddaṃtakoṭibhiḥ | golāṃgūlāraktamukhānīlāṃ gā yūthathanāyakāḥ

Translation

After examining them again and again, even a louse would bite with the tips of its teeth; and the leaders of the herd—blue-bodied, red-mouthed, with rounded tails—move about without dread.

Word by Word

• yūkā: a louse
• yūkā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yūkā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• saṃvīkṣya: having examined well
• saṃvīkṣya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial to main verb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saṃ-√īkṣ (धातु) → saṃvīkṣya (क्त्वान्त/अव्ययीभाव-रूप)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/Absolutive), अव्यय; पूर्वक्रिया (having observed carefully)

• vīkṣya: having looked (repeatedly)
• vīkṣya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √īkṣ (धातु) → vīkṣya (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/Absolutive), अव्यय; पुनरुक्त-पूर्वक्रिया (having looked again and again)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• bhakṣayet: would eat/devour
• bhakṣayet: Kriyā (क्रिया/Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhakṣ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• danta-koṭibhiḥ: with the tips/edges of (its) teeth
• danta-koṭibhiḥ: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: danta (प्रातिपदिक) + koṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (दन्तानां कोटयः); स्त्रीलिङ्ग (कोटि), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• golāṃgūla-rakta-mukhā-nīlāṃ: a blue (cow) with cow-like tail and red mouth
• golāṃgūla-rakta-mukhā-nīlāṃ: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक) + lāṃgūla (प्रातिपदिक) + rakta (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक) + nīla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-कर्मधारय-समास (गो-लाङ्गूलः, रक्त-मुखः, नीलः इति गुणसमुच्चय); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• gām: a cow
• gām: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• yūtha-stha-nāyakāḥ: leaders of the herd
• yūtha-stha-nāyakāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yūtha (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (प्रातिपदिक) + nāyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (यूथे स्थाः = यूथस्थाः; तेषां नायकाः); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kshetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A surreal Kāśī grove where even tiny creatures show boldness; herd-leaders with striking colors move calmly, suggesting a protected, enchanted ecology under the kṣetra’s aura.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Yūkā (louse)
• Gāḥ (cattle)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse continues the theme that in Kāśī even the smallest harms and the greatest fears lose their force, indicating a kṣetra that disciplines hostility.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī-kṣetra broadly.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.