Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

पाश्चात्या दक्षिणात्याश्च निद्रामुद्रितलोचनाः । शयिता एव वीक्षन्ते सतारग्रहमंबरम्

Transliteration

pāścātyā dakṣiṇātyāśca nidrāmudritalocanāḥ | śayitā eva vīkṣante satāragrahamaṃbaram

Translation

Mais les peuples de l’occident et du sud, les yeux scellés par le sommeil, demeuraient couchés sans cesse, contemplant, tout en gisant, le ciel rempli d’étoiles et de planètes.

Word by Word

• पाश्चात्याः: the western people
• पाश्चात्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाश्चात्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; देशवासी/दिशावाचकः ‘westerners’

• दक्षिणात्याः: the southern people
• दक्षिणात्याः: Karta (Conjoined subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्षिणात्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• निद्रामुद्रितलोचनाः: with eyes closed by sleep
• निद्रामुद्रितलोचनाः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निद्रा (प्रातिपदिक) + मुद्रित (मुद्र् धातु → क्त) + लोचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारय-प्रधानः: ‘निद्रया मुद्रितानि लोचनानि येषाम्’ (बहुव्रीह्यर्थे प्रयोगः), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• शयिताः: lying down
• शयिताः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शी (धातु) → शयित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘lying down’

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (particle of emphasis)

• वीक्षन्ते: they see/look at
• वीक्षन्ते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वीक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• सतारग्रहम्: with stars and planets
• सतारग्रहम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (अव्यय/उपसर्गार्थ ‘with’) + तारा (प्रातिपदिक) + ग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (सह-तारा-ग्रहैः/ताराग्रहयुक्तम्), नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; अम्बरम्-विशेषणम्

• अम्बरम्: the sky
• अम्बरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अम्बर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (Vyāsa continues by context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (frame implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: People in the west and south lie asleep with heavy eyelids while above them the sky remains dark yet crowded with stars and planets, suggesting night persisting unnaturally.

Characters & Entities

• Peoples of the West
• Peoples of the South
• Stars and planets (tārā-graha)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Imbalance in the cosmic rhythm produces imbalance in human life—rest, work, and ritual all depend on the proper cycle of time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is directly praised; it is part of the Kāśī-khaṇḍa’s cosmological narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse implies disruption of daily duties due to abnormal night.