Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 78

Devanagari script

रोरूयते वृषाकारस्त्रिधा बद्धः स कुंभज । काशीविघ्रकरा ये च ये काश्यां पापबुद्धयः

Transliteration

rorūyate vṛṣākārastridhā baddhaḥ sa kuṃbhaja | kāśīvighrakarā ye ca ye kāśyāṃ pāpabuddhayaḥ

Translation

Il rugit, de forme taurine, lié de trois manières, ô fils de Kumbha. Ceux de Kāśī qui suscitent des obstacles, et ceux qui demeurent à Kāśī avec une intention pécheresse—

Word by Word

• rorūyate: cries aloud / wails
• rorūyate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ru (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम् (singular); धातोः ‘रु’ (रवणे/रोदने) इत्यस्य तीव्र/पुनरुक्त-प्रयोगः

• vṛṣākāraḥ: one having the form of a bull
• vṛṣākāraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + ākāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचनम्; ‘वृषस्य आकारः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• tridhā: in three ways / threefold
• tridhā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tridhā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; प्रकारवाचक-क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb of manner)

• baddhaḥ: bound / tied
• baddhaḥ: Karta-anvayi (Predicate adjective/कर्तृसम्बन्धी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bandh (धातु) → baddha (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• kuṃbhaja: O Kumbhaja (Agastya)
• kuṃbhaja: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṃbha (प्रातिपदिक) + ja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन (8th case), एकवचनम्; ‘कुम्भात् जातः’ इति पञ्चमी-तत्पुरुषः; संबोधन-प्रयोगः

• kāśīvighrakarāḥ: those who cause obstacles in Kāśī
• kāśīvighrakarāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + vighra (प्रातिपदिक) + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्; ‘काश्याः विघ्रं (विघ्नं) कुर्वन्ति’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (अर्थतः कर्तृवाचकः)

• ye: who / those who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपातः (conjunction)

• ye: who / those who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्

• kāśyām: in Kāśī
• kāśyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचनम्; अधिकरणम् (locative)

• pāpabuddhayaḥ: those of sinful intent
• pāpabuddhayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + buddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्; बहुव्रीहिः—‘पापा बुद्धिर्येषां ते’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kumbhaja (Agastya) addressed as ‘son of Kumbha’

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bull-formed, roaring Rudra-guardian bound ‘threefold’ stands as a fierce sentinel of Kāśī; shadowy figures representing obstructionists recoil in fear within a ghāṭa-temple cityscape.

Characters & Entities

• Vṛṣa-rūpa (bull-formed being)
• Agastya (Kumbhaja)
• Kāśī
• Vighna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s holiness demands inner dharma; obstructing sacred life or acting with sinful intent invites divine restraint and correction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse continues a directional sacred mapping in Kāśī, introducing a bull-formed roaring presence tied to the city’s protection from vighnas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; it functions as a moral and protective warning within the sthala narrative.