Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

शतानिपंचवर्षाणि प्रणिधानस्थितस्य हि । कर्दमस्य व्यतीतानि शंभुमर्चयतस्तदा

Transliteration

śatānipaṃcavarṣāṇi praṇidhānasthitasya hi | kardamasya vyatītāni śaṃbhumarcayatastadā

Translation

Pour Kardama, demeuré dans une contemplation inébranlable, cinq cents années s’écoulèrent tandis qu’alors il adorait Śambhu.

Word by Word

• शतानि: hundreds
• शतानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• पञ्च-वर्षाणि: five years (each)
• पञ्च-वर्षाणि: Visheshya (Apposition/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या) + वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास: ‘पञ्च वर्षाणि’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• प्रणिधान-स्थितस्य: of (him) abiding in deep concentration
• प्रणिधान-स्थितस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रणिधान (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थित (√स्था, क्त/कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास: ‘प्रणिधाने स्थितः’; पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle): हेतौ/निश्चये ‘indeed/for’

• कर्दमस्य: of Kardama
• कर्दमस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्दम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• व्यतीतानि: passed; elapsed
• व्यतीतानि: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + अति + √इ (धातु) → व्यतीत (क्त/कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; past participle used predicatively

• शंभुम्: Śambhu (Śiva)
• शंभुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• अर्चयतः: of (him) worshipping
• अर्चयतः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ/शानच्-सम्भव वर्तमानकृदन्त (present participle): षष्ठी, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग — ‘of (him) worshipping’

• तदा: then; at that time
• तदा: Kala-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of time)

Speaker

Narrator (Skanda to Agastya, contextually)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (frame implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kardama seated in deep meditation and worship of Śambhu; the passage of five hundred years is suggested through changing seasons, fading garlands, and steady lamp-flame—yet his posture remains unchanged.

Characters & Entities

• Kardama
• Śambhu (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steady worship and one-pointed devotion transcend ordinary measures of time and deepen divine proximity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, implied as an extraordinary field for tapas and Śiva-arcana.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Arcana (worship) of Śambhu and sustained praṇidhāna (one-pointed contemplation) are indicated.