Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

पृथिव्यावरणांभांसि निष्क्रांतानि तदा मुने । भूप्रमाणाद्दशगुणैर्यैरियं वसुधावृता

Transliteration

pṛthivyāvaraṇāṃbhāṃsi niṣkrāṃtāni tadā mune | bhūpramāṇāddaśaguṇairyairiyaṃ vasudhāvṛtā

Translation

Alors, ô sage, jaillirent les eaux qui ceignent la terre : ces eaux par lesquelles ce monde est enveloppé, dix fois au-delà de la mesure du sol.

Word by Word

• पृथिव्यावरणाम्भांसि: the waters forming the earth’s covering
• पृथिव्यावरणाम्भांसि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक) + आवरण (प्रातिपदिक) + अम्भस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (पृथिव्याः आवरणम्; तस्य अम्भांसि), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

• निष्क्रान्तानि: having come forth/issued out
• निष्क्रान्तानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निः + क्रम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘निष्क्रान्त’, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन; विशेषण (अम्भांसि)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal adverb)

• मुने: O sage
• मुने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन

• भूप्रमाणात्: than the earth’s measure
• भूप्रमाणात्: Apadana (Source/Standard/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रमाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (भूः प्रमाणम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन

• दशगुणैः: by tenfold (ten times)
• दशगुणैः: Karana (Instrument/Measure/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश (संख्या) + गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (दश गुणाः), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; विशेषण (यैः)

• यैः: by which
• यैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

• इयम्: this
• इयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• वसुधा: the earth
• वसुधा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसुधा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• आवृता: was covered/enveloped
• आवृता: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ + वृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘आवृत’, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; विधेयविशेषण (वसुधा)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kuṇḍa of earth-encircling waters (name not given in verse)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A sage addressed as ‘muni’

Visual Art Cues

Scene: From the newly opened basin, immense subterranean waters surge outward with roaring force, suggesting a vast hidden ocean beneath the earth; sages look on in astonishment as the kuṇḍa fills rapidly.

Characters & Entities

• Pṛthivī
• Ambhas (waters)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s sacred rites are linked to cosmic order—purification is not merely local but participates in universal sanctity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī’s divine water-source/kuṇḍa, presented as drawing from primordial, world-encircling waters.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct injunction; it provides the sacred origin of the waters used for bathing and worship.