Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

योजनानां सहस्राणि नवयस्य समुच्छ्रयः । तावानेव हि विस्तारस्तनोर्मायाविनोस्य हि

Transliteration

yojanānāṃ sahasrāṇi navayasya samucchrayaḥ | tāvāneva hi vistārastanormāyāvinosya hi

Translation

Sa hauteur est de neuf mille yojanas ; et d’une mesure égale est la largeur du corps de ce détenteur de la māyā.

Word by Word

• योजनानाम्: of yojanas (units of distance)
• योजनानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन — 'of yojanas'

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन — 'thousands'

• नवयस्य: of the nine-year-old (one)
• नवयस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नवयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन — 'of the nine-year-old'

• समुच्छ्रयः: height, elevation
• समुच्छ्रयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सम्+उत्+श्रि (धातु) → समुच्छ्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — 'height/loftiness'

• तावान्: so great, that much
• तावान्: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तावत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — 'so much/that great'

• एव: indeed, just
• एव: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle) — emphasis

• हि: indeed, for
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle) — explanatory/emphatic

• विस्तारः: extent, breadth
• विस्तारः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विस्तार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — 'extent/spread'

• तनोः: of the body
• तनोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन — 'of the body'

• मायाविनः: of the illusionist
• मायाविनः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मायाविन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन — 'of the magician/illusionist'

• अस्य: of this (one)
• अस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन — pronoun 'of this/this one's'

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle) — emphasis

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis of Naimiṣāraṇya (frame typical)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A colossal māyā-wielding demon of unimaginable height and breadth looms on the horizon, dwarfing landscapes; Kāśī’s sacred skyline and ghāṭas appear tiny beneath his shadow.

Characters & Entities

• Gajāsura

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Māyā can magnify fearsome appearances, but magnitude is not truth; dharma discerns and overcomes illusion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the overarching sacred context; no individual tīrtha is specified in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.