Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

कांचिद्दिशं समालंब्य निर्वेदं परमं गतः । प्रत्याश्रमं प्रतिनगं प्रत्यब्धि प्रतिकाननम्

Transliteration

kāṃciddiśaṃ samālaṃbya nirvedaṃ paramaṃ gataḥ | pratyāśramaṃ pratinagaṃ pratyabdhi pratikānanam

Translation

Taking to some direction and having attained profound detachment, he went from hermitage to hermitage, from mountain to mountain, from sea to sea, and from forest to forest.

Word by Word

• काञ्चित्: some
• काञ्चित्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (indefinite pronoun used adjectivally)

• दिशम्: direction
• दिशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिश् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• समालम्ब्य: having taken support/setting out toward
• समालम्ब्य: Purvakala-kriya (Absolutive/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-लम्ब् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभाव (gerund)

• निर्वेदम्: dispassion
• निर्वेदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्वेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• परमम्: supreme
• परमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; निर्वेदम् इति विशेषणम्

• गतः: having attained/gone
• गतः: Kriya (State/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगः

• प्रत्याश्रमम्: to each hermitage
• प्रत्याश्रमम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रति (अव्यय) + आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्ययवत्, द्वितीया-एकवचनरूपेण प्रयोगः (adverbial)

• प्रतिनगम्: to each mountain
• प्रतिनगम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रति (अव्यय) + नग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्ययवत् (adverbial)

• प्रत्यब्धि: to each sea
• प्रत्यब्धि: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रति (अव्यय) + अब्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्ययवत् (adverbial)

• प्रतिकाननम्: to each forest
• प्रतिकाननम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रति (अव्यय) + कानन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्ययवत् (adverbial)

Speaker

Skanda

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A montage-like scene: Damana walking with staff and kamaṇḍalu through successive landscapes—hermitage huts, mountain passes, seashore, dense forest—each vignette connected by a winding path, conveying relentless pilgrimage.

Characters & Entities

• Damana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Detachment matures through seeking—moving through sacred landscapes becomes a discipline that supports inner transformation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse broadly evokes India’s sacred geography (āśramas, mountains, seas, forests) rather than naming one tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is stated; the implied sādhana is pilgrimage undertaken in a spirit of nirveda and tapas.