Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

अवाप जन्मगंधर्वस्त्वसौ मलयकेतुतः । कर्णाटनृपतेः कन्या बभूवाहं कलावती

Transliteration

avāpa janmagaṃdharvastvasau malayaketutaḥ | karṇāṭanṛpateḥ kanyā babhūvāhaṃ kalāvatī

Translation

He was reborn as a Gandharva named Malayaketu. And I became Kalāvatī, the daughter of the king of Karṇāṭa.

Word by Word

• अवाप: obtained
• अवाप: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्ष-भूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• जन्मगन्धर्वः: (his) birth as a Gandharva
• जन्मगन्धर्वः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्म-गन्धर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन; समासः—जन्मना गन्धर्वः (तत्पुरुष)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Connector (Avyaya/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषणार्थक-अव्यय

• असौ: that one / he
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• मलयकेतुतः: from Malayaketu
• मलयकेतुतः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मलयकेतु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन; समासः—मलयः केतुः यस्य (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्राय, नाम)

• कर्णाटनृपतेः: of the Karnāṭa king
• कर्णाटनृपतेः: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्णाट-नृपति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; समासः—कर्णाटानां नृपतिः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• कन्या: daughter
• कन्या: Predicate/Apposition (Samānādhikaraṇa/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता/समाना), एकवचन

• बभूव: became
• बभूव: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्ष-भूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• कलावती: Kalāvatī (name)
• कलावती: Predicate/Apposition (Samānādhikaraṇa/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलावती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Kalāvatī (narrating her remembrance)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Karṇāṭa-deśa (regional); Malayācala (name-source)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Same frame listener(s)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A split-scene: on one side a radiant Gandharva youth labeled Malayaketu with celestial ornaments; on the other a South Indian royal court where Kalāvatī is born as a princess, attendants holding lamps and auspicious vessels.

Characters & Entities

• Gandharva
• Malayaketu
• Karṇāṭa king
• Kalāvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas teach karmic continuity: identities and relations shift across births, yet dharma links them through cause, consequence, and remembrance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Implicitly tied to Jñānavāpī in Kāśī, where such past-life knowledge is said to arise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse.