Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 85

Devanagari script

यद्ब्रह्मविष्णुरुद्राद्यास्तथाख्या देहिनामिमाः । आख्या यथास्मदादीनां पुण्यकीर्त्यादिरुच्यते

Transliteration

yadbrahmaviṣṇurudrādyāstathākhyā dehināmimāḥ | ākhyā yathāsmadādīnāṃ puṇyakīrtyādirucyate

Translation

Just as embodied beings are designated by names such as ‘Brahmā’, ‘Viṣṇu’, and ‘Rudra’, so too for people like us there are names—such as ‘Puṇyakīrti’—used in common speech.

Word by Word

• यत्: that which / whatever
• यत्: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम (relative)

• ब्रह्म-विष्णु-रुद्र-आद्याः: Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Rudra and others
• ब्रह्म-विष्णु-रुद्र-आद्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक) + रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः—इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (ब्रह्मा विष्णुः रुद्रः च आदयः)

• तथा: thus/so
• तथा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार-अव्यय (thus/so)

• आख्याः: are called/named (as)
• आख्याः: Predicate (Vidheyātmaka/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आख्या (प्रातिपदिक; ‘name/designation’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• देहिनाम्: of embodied beings
• देहिनाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देहिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• इमाः: these
• इमाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम; ‘आख्याः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• आख्याः: names/designations
• आख्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparative/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/प्रकार-सूचक (as/just as)

• अस्मद्-आदीनाम्: of us and others
• अस्मद्-आदीनाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (अस्मदादीनाम् = of us and others)

• पुण्य-कीर्ति-आदि: merit, fame, etc.
• पुण्य-कीर्ति-आदि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक) + कीर्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—समाहार-द्वन्द्वः (पुण्यं कीर्तिः च आदयः = merit, fame, etc. as a set)

• उच्यते: is said/called
• उच्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive), आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Puṇyakīrti (deduced continuation of speech)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: seekers/ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: scrolls or palm-leaf manuscripts listing grand divine names beside ordinary village names, both dissolving into a single luminous background, indicating conventionality of labels.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Viṣṇu
• Rudra
• Puṇyakīrti

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Names are conventional labels for embodied existence; wisdom distinguishes the name from the deeper reality it points toward.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The discourse belongs to Kāśī’s Kāśīkhaṇḍa, framing liberation-oriented reflection amid Kāśī’s sacred prestige.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a teaching on nāma-rūpa (names/forms) rather than ritual action.