Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 86

Devanagari script

क्षुद्राभिर्माधवीभिश्च पाटला बिल्वचंपकैः । नवमल्लीविचिकिलैः कुंदैः समुचुकुंदकैः

Transliteration

kṣudrābhirmādhavībhiśca pāṭalā bilvacaṃpakaiḥ | navamallīvicikilaiḥ kuṃdaiḥ samucukuṃdakaiḥ

Translation

Il rendit un culte à Śaṅkara avec maintes sortes de fleurs : de petites fleurs et des lianes de mādhavī, des fleurs de pāṭalā, des floraisons de bilva et de campaka, de fraîches variétés de jasmin, et les parfumées kunda et cukuṃda.

Word by Word

• क्षुद्राभिः: with small (flowers/plants)
• क्षुद्राभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षुद्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण) विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (Feminine, Instrumental case, Plural; adjective)

• माधवीभिः: with mādhavī creepers/flowers
• माधवीभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माधवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण) विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Feminine, Instrumental, Plural)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• पाटलाः: pāṭalā flowers/trees
• पाटलाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाटला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Plural)

• बिल्वचंपकैः: with bilva and campaka (flowers)
• बिल्वचंपकैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बिल्व + चंपक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण) विभक्ति, बहुवचन; द्वन्द्वसमास (Masculine, Instrumental, Plural; copulative compound)

• नवमल्लीविचिकिलैः: with navamallī and vicikila flowers
• नवमल्लीविचिकिलैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नवमल्ली + विचिकिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण) विभक्ति, बहुवचन; द्वन्द्वसमास (Masculine, Instrumental, Plural; copulative compound)

• कुंदैः: with jasmine (kunda) flowers
• कुंदैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुंद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण) विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Plural)

• समुचुकुंदकैः: with samucukundaka flowers
• समुचुकुंदकैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समुचुकुंदक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण) विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Plural)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee in Kāśī offers many kinds of blossoms—mādhavī creepers, pāṭalā, bilva, campaka, fresh jasmine and kunda—arranged in heaps before a Śiva-liṅga, with incense haze and lamp-glow.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkara
• Śukra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion expressed through careful offerings—especially fragrant flowers—becomes a direct mode of honoring Śiva in sacred Kāśī.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as the foremost field for Śiva-worship, where offerings to Śaṅkara are celebrated as especially meritorious.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Puṣpārcana—worship by offering specific flowers and sacred items such as bilva, kunda, and jasmine varieties.