Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

सांबो वाराणसीं प्राप्य समाराध्यांशुमालिनम् । कुंडं तत्पृष्ठतः कृत्वा निजां प्रकृतिमाप्तवान्

Transliteration

sāṃbo vārāṇasīṃ prāpya samārādhyāṃśumālinam | kuṃḍaṃ tatpṛṣṭhataḥ kṛtvā nijāṃ prakṛtimāptavān

Translation

Sāmba, having reached Vārāṇasī and duly worshipped Aṃśumālin, then established a sacred pond behind it; and he regained his own natural condition—health and wholeness.

Word by Word

• sāṃbaḥ: Sāmba
• sāṃbaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāṃba (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (nominative singular)

• vārāṇasīm: Varanasi
• vārāṇasīm: Karma (Goal/Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārāṇasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (accusative singular; destination)

• prāpya: having reached
• prāpya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pra-√āp (आप् धातु) + ya (ल्यप्)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund): having reached

• samārādhya: having propitiated
• samārādhya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sam-ā-√rādh (राध् धातु) + ya (ल्यप्)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund): having worshipped/propitiated

• aṃśumālinam: the Sun (garlanded with rays)
• aṃśumālinam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṃśu (प्रातिपदिक) + mālin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहिः (अंशवो माला यस्य = rays as garland); पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (accusative singular)

• kuṃḍam: a pond/pit
• kuṃḍam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṃḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (accusative singular)

• tat-pṛṣṭhataḥ: behind it / at its back
• tat-pṛṣṭhataḥ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + pṛṣṭhataḥ (अव्यय; pṛṣṭha + tas)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमासः; 'तत्' (of that) + 'पृष्ठतः' (from behind/at the back): स्थानवाचक-अव्यय

• kṛtvā: having made
• kṛtvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √kṛ (कृ धातु) + tvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund): having made

• nijām: his own
• nijām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'prakṛtim' इति विशेषण (accusative singular)

• prakṛtim: natural state, original condition
• prakṛtim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prakṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (accusative singular)

• āptavān: obtained, regained
• āptavān: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√āp (आप् धातु) + tavān (क्तवतुँ)
• Form: क्तवतुँ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past active participle used finitely); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि—'he obtained'

Speaker

Nārada (as narrator within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Aṃśumālin-kuṇḍa (Sāmba-kṛta) in Kāśī (as per this episode)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sāmba arrives in Kāśī, worships the radiant Aṃśumālin (Sūrya), then consecrates a kuṇḍa behind the shrine; his body regains health, depicted as renewed complexion and upright posture.

Characters & Entities

• Sāmba
• Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
• Aṃśumālin
• Kuṇḍa (sacred pond)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage joined with sincere worship in Kāśī bears tangible fruit—restoration, purification, and renewed life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī (Kāśī), and the kuṇḍa established in connection with the worship of Aṃśumālin.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Proper worship (samārādhana) of Aṃśumālin in Vārāṇasī, and the founding of a kuṇḍa as a sacred act.