Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 90

Devanagari script

गंगायमुनयोरीषे चक्रे पवनदेवता । सायंप्रातर्मये चक्रे छत्रं द्यौर्मंडलं शुचि

Transliteration

gaṃgāyamunayorīṣe cakre pavanadevatā | sāyaṃprātarmaye cakre chatraṃ dyaurmaṃḍalaṃ śuci

Translation

The Wind-god fashioned the reins for (the powers of) Gaṅgā and Yamunā. He also made a canopy—the pure celestial sphere—formed of evening and morning.

Word by Word

• गङ्गायमुनयोः: of Gaṅgā and Yamunā
• गङ्गायमुनयोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक) + यमुना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (समाहार-द्वन्द्व/इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व), षष्ठी-विभक्ति, द्विवचन (Genitive dual)

• ईषे: rules; is lord over
• ईषे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ईश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; √ईश् (to rule/be master)

• चक्रे: made
• चक्रे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; √कृ (to make)

• पवनदेवता: the wind-deity
• पवनदेवता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पवन (प्रातिपदिक) + देवता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (पवनरूपा देवता)

• सायंप्रातर्: in the evening and in the morning
• सायंप्रातर्: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सायम् (अव्यय) + प्रातर् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय-द्वन्द्व (evening and morning) used adverbially

• मये: in/with (something) made of
• मये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Locative singular); ‘made of/consisting of’ (in/with something made of)

• चक्रे: made
• चक्रे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; √कृ

• छत्रम्: umbrella; canopy
• छत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: छत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Accusative singular)

• द्यौः: the sky
• द्यौः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्यौ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Nominative singular)

• मण्डलम्: disk; circle
• मण्डलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Accusative singular)

• शुचि: pure; bright
• शुचि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुचि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (pure/bright)

Speaker

Nandīkeśvara (contextual continuation of descriptive passage)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā–Yamunā śakti (symbolic) within Kāśī frame

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A divine chariot scene where the Wind-god (Pavana) weaves luminous reins connecting the personified Gaṅgā and Yamunā; above, a vast canopy formed from the colors of dawn and dusk—rose-gold and indigo—like the celestial dome made tangible.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Yamunā
• Pavana (Vāyu)
• Sky (dyauḥ)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s sacred narrative presents the world itself as liturgical—rivers, winds, and sky become instruments of divine order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Kāśī sacred field, where Gaṅgā and Yamunā are invoked as sanctifying forces within the māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse sacralizes dawn and dusk (prātaḥ-sāyam), often associated with sandhyā practices by implication.