Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 124

Devanagari script

यावंति तस्या लोमानि मुने तत्संततेरपि । तावद्वर्षसहस्राणि स स्वर्गसुखभुग्भवेत्

Transliteration

yāvaṃti tasyā lomāni mune tatsaṃtaterapi | tāvadvarṣasahasrāṇi sa svargasukhabhugbhavet

Translation

Ô sage, autant il y a de poils sur son corps — et de même sur les corps de sa descendance — autant de milliers d’années il jouira de la félicité céleste.

Word by Word

• यावन्ति: as many as
• यावन्ति: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यावत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; correl. adjective ‘as many as’; Nominative plural

• तस्याः: of her
• तस्याः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Genitive singular

• लोमानि: hairs (body-hairs)
• लोमानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोमन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Nominative plural

• मुने: O sage
• मुने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Vocative singular

• तत्सन्ततेः: of that progeny/lineage
• तत्सन्ततेः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + सन्तति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (तस्याः सन्ततिः); Genitive singular

• अपि: also
• अपि: Discourse particle (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपि-कार (also/even)

• तावत्: that many
• तावत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तावत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचनार्थे अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोगः; correl. ‘so many/that many’; here qualifying following plural noun

• वर्षसहस्राणि: thousands of years
• वर्षसहस्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (वर्षाणां सहस्राणि / वर्ष-सहस्राणि = thousands of years); Nominative plural

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• स्वर्गसुखभुक्: enjoyer of heavenly happiness
• स्वर्गसुखभुक्: Karta (Predicate noun/कर्तृसमाना)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + सुख (प्रातिपदिक) + भुज् (धातु) → भुक् (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (स्वर्गस्य सुखं तद् भुङ्क्ते इति); ‘enjoyer of heavenly bliss’; Nominative singular

• भवेत्: would become/would be
• भवेत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; parasmaipada; ‘would be’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Jāhnavī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A sage (mune) addressed within the discourse

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visionary depiction of svarga: the devotee enjoys celestial pleasures for countless ages, while a symbolic motif of innumerable hairs/threads represents measureless duration; Gaṅgā’s blessing flows as a luminous stream connecting earth to heaven.

Characters & Entities

• Svarga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic teaching uses vast time-measures to celebrate the extraordinary fruit (phala) of Gaṅgā-related merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Implicitly the Gaṅgā-context of the surrounding Gaṅgā-māhātmya in Kāśī-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is stated in this verse; it functions as a phalaśruti (statement of reward).