Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 68

Devanagari script

मर्त्यानां गणना क्वेह निमेषार्ध निमेषिणाम् । देवोपि निर्मलं मत्वा मंदरं चारुकंदरम्

Transliteration

martyānāṃ gaṇanā kveha nimeṣārdha nimeṣiṇām | devopi nirmalaṃ matvā maṃdaraṃ cārukaṃdaram

Translation

Quel dénombrement des mortels pourrait-il y avoir ici, quand même ceux qui clignent d’un demi-instant—les dieux—sont sans mesure ? Même le Deva, tenant Mandara aux belles cavernes pour parfaitement pur, l’honora.

Word by Word

• मर्त्यानाम्: of mortals
• मर्त्यानाम्: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मर्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• गणना: counting/numbering
• गणना: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गणना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• क्व: where
• क्व: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नार्थक-देशवाचक (interrogative adverb: where?)

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (adverb: here)

• निमेषार्ध: half a moment (half a blink)
• निमेषार्ध: Sambandha (Measure/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निमेष + अर्ध (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: निमेषस्य अर्धम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः)

• निमेषिणाम्: of the blinkers (those who blink)
• निमेषिणाम्: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निमेषिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• देवः: a god
• देवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि-कार (also/even)

• निर्मलम्: pure/spotless
• निर्मलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्मल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मत्वा: having considered/knowing
• मत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्यय (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्यय

• मन्दरम्: Mandara (mountain/person)
• मन्दरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्दर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• चारुकन्दरम्: having beautiful caves/with lovely caverns
• चारुकन्दरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चारु + कन्दर (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (चारु कन्दरः यस्य/चारुकन्दरः); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mandara

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kāśī-mahātmya audience (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast mountain Mandara with beautiful cave mouths; devas above, tiny mortals below, emphasizing scale; the mountain radiates purity as if washed in light.

Characters & Entities

• Deva(s)
• Mandara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are measured not by human calculation but by divine purity and the subtle merit they embody.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mandara (Maṃdara), praised as a pure, beautiful-caverned sacred mountain within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse functions as a eulogy (māhātmya) of Mandara’s purity.