Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

जैगीषव्योथ संभ्रांतः पुरतो वीक्ष्य शंकरम् । वामांगसन्निविष्टाद्रितनयं प्रणनाम ह

Transliteration

jaigīṣavyotha saṃbhrāṃtaḥ purato vīkṣya śaṃkaram | vāmāṃgasanniviṣṭādritanayaṃ praṇanāma ha

Translation

Then Jaigīṣavya, filled with reverent awe, beheld Śaṅkara before him, with the Daughter of the Mountain seated upon His left, and bowed down in worship.

Word by Word

• जैगीषव्यः: Jaigīṣavya (the sage)
• जैगीषव्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जैगीषव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• अथ: then
• अथ: Discourse marker (सम्बन्ध/अन्वय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (particle: then/now)

• संभ्रान्तः: agitated, awestruck
• संभ्रान्तः: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-भ्रम् (धातु) + संभ्रान्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying the subject)

• पुरतः: in front
• पुरतः: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of place: in front)

• वीक्ष्य: having seen
• वीक्ष्य: Kriyā-anuvṛtti (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वीक्ष् (धातु) + वीक्ष्य (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive): ‘having seen’

• शंकरम्: Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• शंकरम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• वामाङ्ग-सन्निविष्ट-अद्रि-तनयम्: (Śiva) with the mountain-daughter seated on his left side
• वामाङ्ग-सन्निविष्ट-अद्रि-तनयम्: Karman-viśeṣaṇa (Object qualifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाम (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + सन्निविष्ट (सम्-नि-विश् धातु, क्त कृदन्त) + अद्रि (प्रातिपदिक) + तनय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष): वामाङ्गे सन्निविष्टः अद्रितनयः यस्य (i.e., ‘one with the mountain-daughter seated on the left side’)—शंकरस्य विशेषणरूपेण

• प्रणनाम: bowed down
• प्रणनाम: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-नम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ह: indeed
• ह: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्मरण/वृत्तान्तसूचक निपात (particle: indeed/it is said)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within Kāśīkhaṇḍa; commonly Skanda addressing Agastya in Kāśī narratives)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The sage Jaigīṣavya stands in trembling reverence before Śaṅkara; Umā, the Daughter of the Mountain, sits on Śiva’s left side; the moment is still, luminous, and intimate—divine couple granting darśana in Kāśī.

Characters & Entities

• Jaigīṣavya
• Śaṅkara
• Pārvatī (Adri-tanayā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True devotion begins with humble reverence (praṇāma) upon receiving the darśana of Śiva, especially in sacred Kāśī.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is the implied sacred setting of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where Śiva’s presence is especially immediate.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed; the act emphasized is praṇāma (bowing) upon beholding Śiva.