Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

के देशाः काश्च सरितः के शैलास्त्वत्कृते ध्रुव । मया चरणचारिण्या राजपत्न्या न लंघिताः

Transliteration

ke deśāḥ kāśca saritaḥ ke śailāstvatkṛte dhruva | mayā caraṇacāriṇyā rājapatnyā na laṃghitāḥ

Translation

Quels pays, quelles rivières, quelles montagnes n’ai-je pas franchis pour toi, ô Dhruva ? Bien que je sois reine, j’ai marché à pied.

Word by Word

• ke: which? what (ones)?
• ke: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative Plural)

• deśāḥ: countries/places
• deśāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative Plural)

• kāḥ: which? what (fem.)
• kāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative Plural)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय (conjunction)

• saritaḥ: rivers
• saritaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarit (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative Plural)

• ke: which? what (ones)?
• ke: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative Plural)

• śailāḥ: mountains
• śailāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative Plural)

• tvat: for you/your
• tvat: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-एकवचन (Genitive Singular), सर्वनाम

• kṛte: for the sake of
• kṛte: Prayojana (Purpose)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कृते (सप्तमी-एकवचनवत् अव्ययीभावार्थे) = ‘for the sake of’ (postposition-like)

• dhruva: O Dhruva/steadfast one
• dhruva: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhruva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-एकवचन (Vocative Singular)

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Instrument/agent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-एकवचन (Instrumental Singular), सर्वनाम

• caraṇa: foot
• caraṇa: Sambandha (in compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचन (Nom./Acc. Singular)

• cāriṇyā: by (me) walking on foot
• cāriṇyā: Karana (Instrument/agent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāriṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-एकवचन (Instrumental Singular); समासः (तत्पुरुष) = caraṇa + cāriṇī (one who goes on foot)

• rājapatnyā: by (me), the king’s wife
• rājapatnyā: Karana (Instrument/agent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāja + patnī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-एकवचन (Instrumental Singular); समासः (तत्पुरुष) = rāja + patnī (king's wife)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle)

• laṃghitāḥ: crossed, traversed
• laṃghitāḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √laṅgh (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative Plural)

Speaker

A royal mother/queen (rājapatnī), speaking to her son Dhruva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (contextual) / general tīrtha-yātrā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages/seekers (unspecified)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A queen, without royal conveyance, walks barefoot with minimal attendants, crossing a river ford and approaching distant hills—dust on her feet, resolve on her face, a sense of long journey.

Characters & Entities

• Dhruva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True devotion and love ignore status and comfort; determination turns the whole world into a path of seeking.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named; the verse evokes pan-Indian sacred geography consistent with Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s pilgrimage ethos.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes arduous travel rather than a formal rite.