Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 93

Devanagari script

नानावर्णपताकाश्च यत्र कल्पमहीरुहः । अनल्पाः कल्पयंत्येव नित्यभक्तिसमन्विताः

Transliteration

nānāvarṇapatākāśca yatra kalpamahīruhaḥ | analpāḥ kalpayaṃtyeva nityabhaktisamanvitāḥ

Translation

Là, des arbres semblables aux kalpa-arbres exauçant les vœux offrent sans cesse d’abondantes bannières de mille couleurs, toujours unies à une dévotion inébranlable.

Word by Word

• नानावर्णपताकाः: many-colored flags
• नानावर्णपताकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाना (अव्यय) + वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + पताका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (नानावर्णाः पताकाः = many-colored flags)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (where)

• कल्पमहीरुहः: the wish-fulfilling tree
• कल्पमहीरुहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्प (प्रातिपदिक) + महीरुह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (कल्पः महीरुहः = wish-fulfilling tree)

• अनल्पाः: abundant/very many
• अनल्पाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• कल्पयन्ति: they arrange/produce/fulfil
• कल्पयन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कॢप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• एव: indeed
• एव: Nipata (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• नित्यभक्तिसमन्विताः: endowed with constant devotion
• नित्यभक्तिसमन्विताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक) + भक्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + समन्वित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः (नित्यभक्त्या समन्विताः = endowed with constant devotion)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viśveśvara (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpa (King)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Within the sacred precinct, kalpa-trees bloom not with fruit but with endless multicolored banners and pennants, fluttering above pathways to the shrine; devotees move beneath them in unbroken daily worship.

Characters & Entities

• Kalpavṛkṣa (kalpa-mahīruha)
• Kāśī
• Devotees

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion makes worship festive and inexhaustible; sacred celebration becomes a natural outflow of bhakti.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, envisioned as a divine landscape supporting continuous worship at Śaṅkara’s abode.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied temple-festival service (utsava) through banners and adornments offered in devotion.