Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

अगस्त्य उवाच । दृष्ट्वा काशीं दृगानंदां तारकारे पुरारिणा । किमकारि समाचक्ष्व प्राप्तां बहुमनोरथैः

Transliteration

agastya uvāca | dṛṣṭvā kāśīṃ dṛgānaṃdāṃ tārakāre purāriṇā | kimakāri samācakṣva prāptāṃ bahumanorathaiḥ

Translation

Agastya dit : Ayant vu à Tārakāra Kāśī—joie des yeux—par le Destructeur des Trois Cités (Śiva), dis-moi : que fit-on en l’atteignant, après tant de vœux chéris ?

Word by Word

• agastyaḥ: Agastya
• agastyaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agastya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √dṛś (धातु) → dṛṣṭvā (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: अव्ययीभावरूप कृदन्त; क्त्वा-प्रत्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• kāśīm: Kāśī
• kāśīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• dṛg-ānandām: delightful to the eyes
• dṛg-ānandām: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dṛk (प्रातिपदिक) + ānanda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (dṛśaḥ ānandaḥ yasyāḥ / dṛgānandā = ‘delight to the eyes’)

• tāraka-are: in/at (the place of) the enemy of Tāraka
• tāraka-are: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāraka (प्रातिपदिक) + ari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (tārakasya ariḥ)

• purāriṇā: by the foe of the cities (Śiva)
• purāriṇā: Karana/Agent-in-instrumental (By/with; doer expressed in instr./करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purāri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• kim: what
• kim: Karma (Interrogative object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• akāri: was done
• akāri: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगः—‘was done’

• samācakṣva: tell/explain
• samācakṣva: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√cakṣ (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• prāptām: attained/reached
• prāptām: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √āp (धातु) → prāpta (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying kāśīm)

• bahu-manorathaiḥ: with many desires/aspirations
• bahu-manorathaiḥ: Karana (Means/Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + manoratha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (bahavaḥ manorathāḥ)

Speaker

Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (with Tārakāra-sthāna)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Skanda

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Agastya, staff in hand, stands at a vantage point overlooking Kāśī’s ghāṭs; Śiva as Tripurāri is suggested near a shrine named Tārakāra; Agastya turns to Skanda with folded hands, asking what actions were performed after the long-awaited arrival.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Kāśī
• Purāri (Śiva)
• Tārakāra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True pilgrimage culminates not only in seeing the holy place but in understanding the divine actions and meanings revealed there.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), introduced as a vision of sacred beauty and fulfillment of long-held spiritual desires.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed in this verse; it opens a narrative inquiry about what was done upon reaching Kāśī.