Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

ततः स भगवानीशो मृडान्या सहितो मृडः । दृष्ट्वा ज्वलंतं तपसा निश्चलं मीलितेक्षणम्

Transliteration

tataḥ sa bhagavānīśo mṛḍānyā sahito mṛḍaḥ | dṛṣṭvā jvalaṃtaṃ tapasā niścalaṃ mīlitekṣaṇam

Translation

Alors le Bienheureux Seigneur Īśa—Śiva le Bienveillant—avec Mṛḍānī, le vit : il flamboyait par l’austérité, immobile, les yeux clos dans l’absorption.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/क्रमवाचक अव्यय (then/thereafter)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भगवानीशः: the blessed Lord
• भगवानीशः: Karta (Subject-apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत् + ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (कर्मधारय): भगवांश्चासौ ईशः; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• मृडान्या: with Mṛḍānī (Pārvatī)
• मृडान्या: Sahakaraka (सह/सहचर)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृडानी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/सह), एकवचन

• सहितः: accompanied
• सहितः: Karta (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सह (उपसर्ग) + इ (धातु) → सहित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘accompanied’

• मृडः: Mṛḍa (Śiva)
• मृडः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया; धातु: दृश् (to see)

• ज्वलन्तम्: blazing
• ज्वलन्तम्: Karma (object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्वल् (धातु) → ज्वलन्त् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: शतृ (present participle), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• तपसा: by austerity
• तपसा: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• निश्चलम्: motionless
• निश्चलम्: Karma (object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निश्चल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• मीलितेक्षणम्: with closed eyes
• मीलितेक्षणम्: Karma (object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मीलित + ईक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (कर्मधारय): मीलिते ईक्षणे यस्य (closed-eyed); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Cakra-puṣkariṇī

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: In-text audience (not specified in verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva (Īśa), ash-smeared and radiant, arrives with Mṛḍānī (Pārvatī) beside him; they behold Viṣṇu seated/standing in unmoving tapas, eyes closed, surrounded by a halo of flame-like austerity; the sacred tank glints nearby under a quiet sky.

Characters & Entities

• Īśa (Śiva)
• Mṛḍa (Śiva)
• Mṛḍānī (Pārvatī)
• Hari (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Austerity culminates in darśana—divine presence is drawn to sincere, concentrated practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting remains the Cakra-puṣkariṇī area in Kāśī, where the tapas is witnessed by Śiva and Pārvatī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Meditative absorption with sense-restraint (closed eyes, stillness) is implied as a mode of tapas.