Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

येषां दृक्पातमात्रेण पतंति भुवनान्यपि । ते किं समर्था नो कांते नगवृद्धिनिषेधने

Transliteration

yeṣāṃ dṛkpātamātreṇa pataṃti bhuvanānyapi | te kiṃ samarthā no kāṃte nagavṛddhiniṣedhane

Translation

Ceux dont le seul regard fait choir même les mondes : ne seraient-ils pas capables, ô bien-aimée, d’empêcher l’enflure croissante de la montagne ?

Word by Word

• येषाम्: of whom
• येषाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• दृक्पातमात्रेण: by mere glance
• दृक्पातमात्रेण: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दृक् (प्रातिपदिक) + पात (प्रातिपदिक) + मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः (दृक्-पातस्य मात्रेण = by mere glance)

• पतन्ति: fall
• पतन्ति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• भुवनानि: worlds
• भुवनानि: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भुवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• अपि: even
• अपि: Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अप्यर्थक (even/also)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• किम्: why? / what?
• किम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नार्थक

• समर्थाः: capable
• समर्थाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• नः: for us / of us
• नः: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive) वा चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), बहुवचन; एन्क्लिटिक रूप (our/to us)

• कान्ते: O beloved
• कान्ते: Address (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कान्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; संबोधन

• नगवृद्धिनिषेधने: in the prevention of the mountain’s growth
• नगवृद्धिनिषेधने: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नग (प्रातिपदिक) + वृद्धि (प्रातिपदिक) + निषेधन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः (नगस्य वृद्धेः निषेधने = in preventing the mountain's growth)

Speaker

Unnamed sage (context: speaking to Lopāmudrā)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A powerful deva or Rudra-like figure whose mere glance causes distant worlds to tremble; in the foreground a mountain bulges upward like a living form, yet is held in check by unseen divine will; a ‘beloved’ addressee suggests intimate counsel amid cosmic spectacle.

Characters & Entities

• Devas (implied from prior verse)
• Worlds (bhuvana)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Obstacles are not ultimate; cosmic and divine forces can restrain them—especially in a sanctified dhāma like Kāśī.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī/Avimukta is the implied sacred frame, though the verse speaks in general terms.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a rhetorical reassurance.