Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

यावंत एव तालाः स्यु रागास्तावंत एव हि । इति गीतोपनिषदा प्रत्यहं सा शुभव्रता

Transliteration

yāvaṃta eva tālāḥ syu rāgāstāvaṃta eva hi | iti gītopaniṣadā pratyahaṃ sā śubhavratā

Translation

As many as there are tālas (rhythmic measures), so many indeed are the rāgas. Thus instructed by the “Gītopaniṣad,” that woman of auspicious vows practiced day after day.

Word by Word

• yāvantaḥ: as many as
• yāvantaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yāvat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (masc. nominative plural) — तालाः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• eva: indeed; exactly
• eva: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधारणार्थक (emphatic particle: indeed/only)

• tālāḥ: rhythmic cycles (tālas)
• tālāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (masc. nominative plural)

• syuḥ: may be; are (in statement)
• syuḥ: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative); प्रथमपुरुष; बहुवचनम् (3rd person plural)

• rāgāḥ: melodic modes (rāgas)
• rāgāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (masc. nominative plural)

• tāvantaḥ: that many
• tāvantaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāvat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (masc. nominative plural) — rāgāḥ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• eva: indeed; exactly
• eva: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधारणार्थक (emphatic particle)

• hi: indeed; for
• hi: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थक (particle: for/indeed)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरणार्थक-अव्ययम् (quotative)

• gīta-upaniṣadā: by the Gītopaniṣad (treatise)
• gīta-upaniṣadā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gīta + upaniṣad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया एकवचनम् (fem. instrumental singular) — ‘by/with the Gītopaniṣad’

• pratyaham: every day
• pratyaham: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prati + ahan (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb)

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनम् (fem. nominative singular)

• śubha-vratā: of auspicious vow; virtuous
• śubha-vratā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha + vrata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनम् (fem. nominative singular) — ‘vratā’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devoted woman, instructed by a ‘Gītopaniṣad’, practices daily—counting tāla with fingers while singing a rāga as an offering before a Śiva symbol.

Characters & Entities

• Gītopaniṣadā (teaching on sacred music)
• Oṃkāra (implied by the immediate context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion is sustained through disciplined daily practice; sacred sound (music/rhythm) becomes a vehicle for steadfast worship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting is Kāśī; the chapter’s devotional arc centers on Śiva’s Oṃkāra-liṅga within Kāśī’s sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A pratyaha (daily) observance is implied—regular devotional practice grounded in sacred sound/teaching.