Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

दृशि धातुरभूद्य मदृशो प्राप्य सान्वयः । स्पष्टं दृष्टिपथं प्राप्ता यदेषाऽनंदवाटिका

Transliteration

dṛśi dhāturabhūdya madṛśo prāpya sānvayaḥ | spaṣṭaṃ dṛṣṭipathaṃ prāptā yadeṣā'naṃdavāṭikā

Translation

When the Creator (Dhātṛ), having found the proper steadiness of his gaze, set it in its rightful place, this Ānandavāṭikā—the Grove of Bliss—came clearly within the range of his sight.

Word by Word

• dṛśi: in (his) sight/vision
• dṛśi: Adhikarana (Locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dṛś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; ‘दृशि’ = ‘दृष्टौ/दर्शने’ (in vision/at sight)

• dhātuḥ: the element/constituent (here: the verbal root/essence)
• dhātuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhātu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• abhūt: became/was
• abhūt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू धातु) उपसर्ग: अभि-
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/Imperfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• ya: which/that
• ya: Connector (Relation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
• Form: सम्बन्ध-प्रत्ययार्थक-अव्यय (relative particle; here linking clause)

• madṛśaḥ: like me
• madṛśaḥ: Predicate (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: madṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; ‘मदृशः’ = ‘मम सदृशः’ (like me)

• prāpya: having obtained
• prāpya: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (आप् धातु) उपसर्ग: प्र-; ल्यप् (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त (gerund), ‘having reached/obtained’

• sa-anvayaḥ: with proper connection/with lineage
• sa-anvayaḥ: Predicate (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (प्रातिपदिक) + anvaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (सः अन्वयः यस्य / सान्वयः = ‘with connection/with lineage/with proper relation’)

• spaṣṭam: clearly
• spaṣṭam: Modifier (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: spaṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverbial accusative)

• dṛṣṭi-patham: the range/path of sight
• dṛṣṭi-patham: Karma (Object/goal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + patha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (दृष्टेः पथः)

• prāptā: has come/has reached
• prāptā: Kriya/Predicate (Descriptive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (आप् धातु) उपसर्ग: प्र- + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; एषा (वाटिका) इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• yad: that/which
• yad: Connector (Relation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
• Form: सम्बन्ध-प्रत्ययार्थक-अव्यय (relative particle; ‘that/which’)

• eṣā: this
• eṣā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• ānanda-vāṭikā: the garden of bliss (Ānandavāṭikā)
• ānanda-vāṭikā: Karta (Apposition/subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ānanda (प्रातिपदिक) + vāṭikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (आनन्दस्य वाटिका)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandavāṭikā

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā’s gaze steadies; a luminous grove—Ānandavāṭikā—appears clearly, filled with flowering trees, gentle light, and a palpable aura of bliss within Kāśī.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā (Dhātṛ)
• Ānandavāṭikā
• Kāśī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred Kāśī reveals itself as a realm of bliss to purified, steady vision—darśana arises when the mind and senses become aligned.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ānandavāṭikā, a blissful sacred grove within the Kāśī sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse implies inner steadiness (focused perception) as a prerequisite for sacred darśana.