Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 95

Devanagari script

आहूय तं नरवरं वरं सर्वांगसुंदरम् । विष्णुभक्तिकृतत्राणं प्राणनाथेति जल्प्य च

Transliteration

āhūya taṃ naravaraṃ varaṃ sarvāṃgasuṃdaram | viṣṇubhaktikṛtatrāṇaṃ prāṇanātheti jalpya ca

Translation

Summoning that best of men—her beloved, perfectly beautiful in every limb—who had been saved through devotion to Viṣṇu, she spoke, calling him, “Lord of my life!”

Word by Word

• आहूय: having called
• आहूय: Pūrvakāla-kriyā
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आ+ह्वे (धातु) → आहूय (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund)

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karman
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• नरवरम्: the best of men
• नरवरम्: Karman (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर+वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (श्रेष्ठः नरः)

• वरम्: excellent
• वरम्: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of नरवरम्)

• सर्वाङ्गसुन्दरम्: beautiful in every limb
• सर्वाङ्गसुन्दरम्: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व+अङ्ग+सुन्दर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः सर्वेषाम् अङ्गानां सुन्दरः (beautiful in all limbs)

• विष्णुभक्तिकृतत्राणम्: protected by devotion to Viṣṇu
• विष्णुभक्तिकृतत्राणम्: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विष्णु+भक्ति+कृत+त्राण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः विष्णुभक्त्या कृतं त्राणं यस्य (protected due to devotion to Viṣṇu)

• प्राणनाथ: O lord of my life
• प्राणनाथ: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण+नाथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः प्राणानां नाथः (lord of my life)

• इति: thus
• इति: Vākyārtha-sūcaka
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इत्यर्थक

• जल्प्य: having spoken
• जल्प्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: जल्प् (धातु) → जल्प्य (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context; exact speaker not shown in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The maiden calls and summons the best of men—handsome and noble—explicitly marked as one protected by devotion to Viṣṇu; she addresses him as ‘Lord of my life’.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Nara-vara
• Vidyādhara maiden (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Bhakti (devotion)—here explicitly to Viṣṇu—is affirmed as a real source of protection, even within a Kāśī-centered Purāṇic setting.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named in this verse; it remains within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative horizon of Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal ritual is prescribed; the verse highlights viṣṇu-bhakti (devotion to Viṣṇu) as the effective means of rescue.