Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

गणैश्च कांचनमयो नानाकौतुकचित्रितः । निर्ममे याममात्रेण प्रासादो मेरुशृंगवत्

Transliteration

gaṇaiśca kāṃcanamayo nānākautukacitritaḥ | nirmame yāmamātreṇa prāsādo meruśṛṃgavat

Translation

Et les gaṇas façonnèrent un temple d’or, orné de maints motifs merveilleux ; en un seul yāma il fut achevé, tel un sommet du mont Meru.

Word by Word

• गणैः: by the gaṇas
• गणैः: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), बहुवचन (instrumental plural)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• काञ्चनमयः: made of gold
• काञ्चनमयः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of prāsādaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāñcana (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; ‘काञ्चनस्य मयः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; विशेषण (masculine nominative singular)

• नाना: various
• नाना: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nānā (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; विविधार्थक (indeclinable: ‘various’)

• कौतुकचित्रितः: decorated with wondrous designs
• कौतुकचित्रितः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of prāsādaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kautuka (प्रातिपदिक) + citrita (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘कौतुकैः चित्रितः’ इति तृतीया-तत्पुरुष/उपपद-समासभावः; विशेषण (masculine nominative singular)

• निर्ममे: (he/they) built/constructed
• निर्ममे: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nir-√mā (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (3rd person singular perfect)

• याममात्रेण: within only one yāma (a watch)
• याममात्रेण: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/Duration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yāma (प्रातिपदिक) + mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन; ‘यामस्य मात्रया’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; करण/कालपरिमाण (instrumental singular: measure of time)

• प्रासादः: the palace
• प्रासादः: Karma/Prameya (Object/Result)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāsāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन (masculine nominative singular)

• मेरुशृंगवत्: like the peak of Meru
• मेरुशृंगवत्: Upamāna (Simile adjunct)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: meru (प्रातिपदिक) + śṛṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (वत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्ययवत्-प्रयोगः; ‘मेरोः शृङ्गवत्’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष + वत् (similative); अव्ययतुल्यं विशेषणम् (indeclinable-like comparative)

Speaker

Narrator (Skanda, Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A fully formed golden prāsāda appears, covered in intricate, playful (kautuka) designs—lotus scrolls, celestial beings, and geometric bands—rising like a Meru-peak, completed within a single yāma.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṇas
• Prāsāda (temple)
• Meru
• Kāśī (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred construction in Kāśī is portrayed as swift and wondrous, reflecting divine sanction and kṣetra-mahattva.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, through the miraculous building of Ratneśvara’s prāsāda.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; it describes the temple’s creation and its auspicious, Meru-like grandeur.