Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

नमस्तस्मै महेशाय यस्य संध्यात्त्रयच्छलात् । यातायातं प्रकुर्वंति त्रिजगत्पतयोऽनिशम्

Transliteration

namastasmai maheśāya yasya saṃdhyāttrayacchalāt | yātāyātaṃ prakurvaṃti trijagatpatayo'niśam

Translation

Salutations à ce Maheśa : sous le prétexte de ses trois rites du crépuscule, les seigneurs des trois mondes vont et viennent sans cesse pour le servir.

Word by Word

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Sambandha (Salutation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नमस्कारार्थक अव्यय (salutatory particle)

• तस्मै: to him
• तस्मै: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative/4th), एकवचन

• महेशाय: to Maheśa (Śiva)
• महेशाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• यस्य: whose
• यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• संध्यात्त्रयच्छलात्: on the pretext of the three twilight prayers
• संध्यात्त्रयच्छलात्: Hetu (Cause/Reason)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संध्या + त्रय + छल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; षष्ठी/तत्पुरुषार्थे: संध्यात्रयस्य छलम्; पञ्चमी: ‘छलात्’ = on the pretext of

• यातायातम्: going and coming
• यातायातम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यात + आयात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (यातं च आयातं च)

• प्रकुर्वन्ति: they perform/do
• प्रकुर्वन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• त्रिजगत्पतयः: lords of the three worlds
• त्रिजगत्पतयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि + जगत् + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (त्रिजगतः पतयः)

• अनिशम्: unceasingly
• अनिशम्: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनिशम् (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: continually)

Speaker

Narrator/Compiler (introductory stuti in Kāśīkhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Tripartite time-cycle: three panels or a single scene with changing sky hues—dawn, noon, dusk—Śiva performing sandhyā; Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Indra (lords of three worlds) arriving repeatedly with folded hands, circling like planets around the axis of Śiva.

Characters & Entities

• Maheśa (Śiva)
• Lords of the three worlds

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva is depicted as the supreme focus of devotion, before whom even cosmic rulers regularly present themselves.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The stuti supports the Kāśī context indirectly by centering Maheśa, Kāśī’s presiding Lord (Viśveśvara).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied reverence for the three daily sandhyā times (dawn/noon/dusk) as sacred moments of worship.