Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

ज्ञानं मे जनयामास भवांतर समुद्भवम् । अथ तासां पुरो हृष्टा कथयामास सुंदरी

Transliteration

jñānaṃ me janayāmāsa bhavāṃtara samudbhavam | atha tāsāṃ puro hṛṣṭā kathayāmāsa suṃdarī

Translation

«Elle a fait naître en moi une connaissance issue d’une autre vie.» Alors, toute joyeuse, la belle femme se mit à la raconter en présence de ses suivantes.

Word by Word

• ज्ञानम्: knowledge
• ज्ञानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म

• मे: of me / to me
• मे: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (possessor)

• जनयामास: generated/produced
• जनयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √जन् (धातु) (णिच् causative: जनय-)
• Form: लिट् (परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘caused to arise/produced’

• भव-अन्तर-समुद्भवम्: arisen from another existence (past-life-born)
• भव-अन्तर-समुद्भवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भव (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक) + समुद्भव (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; सम्+उद्+√भू (धातु))
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण—‘ज्ञानम्’

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तर/आरम्भ-वाचक अव्यय (then/now)

• तासाम्: of them
• तासाम्: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (of them)

• पुरः: in front (of)
• पुरः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरः (अव्यय)
• Form: देश-वाचक अव्यय (adverb: in front)

• हृष्टा: delighted
• हृष्टा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हृष्ट (कृदन्त; √हृष् (धातु))
• Form: क्त (past participle used adjectivally), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण—‘सुंदरी’

• कथयामास: narrated/told
• कथयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कथ् (धातु) (णिच् causative: कथय-)
• Form: लिट् (परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘told/narrated’

• सुंदरी: the beautiful woman
• सुंदरी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुंदरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्ता

Speaker

Kalāvatī (implied by first-person statement), within Skanda’s narration

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jñānavāpī

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (typical frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kalāvatī, delighted, turns to her attendants and begins recounting the past-life knowledge awakened within her, the painted well visible nearby.

Characters & Entities

• Kalāvatī
• Jñānavāpī (contextual)
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual insight becomes meaningful when it turns into truthful testimony and self-understanding rooted in sacred experience.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Jñānavāpī in Kāśī is the source of the past-life knowledge being described.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse foregrounds the result (jñāna) and the sharing of dharmic narrative.