Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

इति हृष्टमना वेधा दृष्ट्वा वाराणसीं पुरीम् । वृद्धब्राह्मणरूपेण राजानं च ददर्श ह

Transliteration

iti hṛṣṭamanā vedhā dṛṣṭvā vārāṇasīṃ purīm | vṛddhabrāhmaṇarūpeṇa rājānaṃ ca dadarśa ha

Translation

Ainsi, Vedhā, le Créateur, le cœur ravi en voyant la cité de Vārāṇasī, aperçut ensuite le roi, ayant pris l’apparence d’un brāhmaṇa âgé.

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: वाक्य-सम्बन्ध (Discourse marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), वाक्य-समाप्ति/उद्धरणसूचक (quotative particle)

• हृष्टमना: with delighted mind
• हृष्टमना: विशेषण (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हृष्ट + मनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि-समास (one whose mind is delighted); पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• वेधा: Brahmā (the Creator)
• वेधा: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेधस्/वेधा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: पूर्वकाल-क्रिया (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु) → दृष्ट्वा (क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), पूर्वक्रिया (prior action)

• वाराणसीम्: Varanasi
• वाराणसीम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाराणसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• पुरीम्: city
• पुरीम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); वाराणसीम् इति विशेष्य (apposition)

• वृद्धब्राह्मणरूपेण: in the guise of an old brāhmaṇa
• वृद्धब्राह्मणरूपेण: करण (Means/guise)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृद्ध + ब्राह्मण + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष-समास (as the form of an old brāhmaṇa); नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter) ‘रूप’; तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• राजानम्: the king
• राजानम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• ददर्श: saw
• ददर्श: क्रिया (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• ह: indeed
• ह: निपात (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (emphatic particle)

Speaker

Skanda (narratorial voice, deduced Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā, radiant yet adopting the humble appearance of an aged brāhmaṇa, enters the splendid city of Vārāṇasī; the king is seen in court, while the city’s ghāṭas and spires glow in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Vedhā (Brahmā)
• Vārāṇasī
• King

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy Kāśī inspires divine joy and also becomes the stage where dharma is tested through humble disguise and royal encounter.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī (Kāśī), explicitly named as the city beheld by Vedhā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse transitions into a narrative meeting between Vedhā and a king.