Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

स्वाहास्वधावषट्कारवर्जिते जगतीतले । पंचयज्ञक्रियालोपाच्चकंपे भुवनत्रयम्

Transliteration

svāhāsvadhāvaṣaṭkāravarjite jagatītale | paṃcayajñakriyālopāccakaṃpe bhuvanatrayam

Translation

Lorsque, sur la surface de la terre, se turent les exclamations « svāhā », « svadhā » et « vaṣaṭ », et que furent délaissés les rites des cinq grands yajñas, les trois mondes se mirent à trembler.

Word by Word

• स्वाहा: svāhā (ritual call)
• स्वाहा: Sambandha (Item in compound/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वाहा (अव्यय/मन्त्रपद)
• Form: मन्त्र-निपात (ritual exclamation)

• स्वधा: svadhā (ritual call)
• स्वधा: Sambandha (Item in compound/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वधा (अव्यय/मन्त्रपद)
• Form: मन्त्र-निपात (ritual exclamation)

• वषट्कार: vaṣaṭ-call
• वषट्कार: Sambandha (Item in compound/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वषट्कार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (stem in compound); यज्ञीय-शब्दः ‘vaṣaṭ-call’

• वर्जिते: being devoid of
• वर्जिते: Adhikarana (Locative circumstance/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर्ज् (धातु) → वर्जित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; ‘when/where (it was) devoid of’

• जगतीतले: on the surface of the earth/world
• जगतीतले: Adhikarana (Place locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगती (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जगत्याः तलम्), नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• पञ्चयज्ञक्रियालोपात्: because of the cessation of the rites of the five sacrifices
• पञ्चयज्ञक्रियालोपात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या) + यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक) + क्रिया (प्रातिपदिक) + लोप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः; ‘पञ्चयज्ञस्य क्रियायाः लोपः’ (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष), तस्मात् (पञ्चमी 5th), एकवचन; हेतौ

• चकम्पे: shook/trembled
• चकम्पे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कम्प् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• भुवनत्रयम्: the three worlds
• भुवनत्रयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भुवन (प्रातिपदिक) + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या)
• Form: द्विगु-समासः (त्रीणि भुवनानि), नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), 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: A silent sacrificial ground: extinguished fires, priests absent, no svāhā/svadhā/vaṣaṭ heard; simultaneously the earth and heavens tremble, with beings looking around in fear.

Characters & Entities

• Pañca-mahāyajña (five great sacrifices)
• Three worlds (bhuvana-traya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Daily dharmic rites sustain cosmic balance; when yajña and duty collapse, the world itself is portrayed as destabilized.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa framework (glory of Kāśī), but it specifically emphasizes universal dharma through yajña rather than a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It references the pañca-mahāyajñas (five daily great sacrifices) and the offering formulas “svāhā,” “svadhā,” and “vaṣaṭ,” implying their obligatory continuity.