Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 88

Devanagari script

कारणं कारणानां च जगद्योनिं च तं परम् । विधिर्विलोकयांचक्रे तपसागोचरीकृतम्

Transliteration

kāraṇaṃ kāraṇānāṃ ca jagadyoniṃ ca taṃ param | vidhirvilokayāṃcakre tapasāgocarīkṛtam

Translation

Ce Suprême—cause des causes et matrice du monde—Brahmā (Vidhi) le contempla, rendu accessible à sa perception par le tapas.

Word by Word

• कारणम्: cause
• कारणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• कारणानाम्: of causes
• कारणानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction)

• जगत्-योनिम्: source of the world
• जगत्-योनिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक) + योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष “जगतः योनिः”

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — समुच्चयार्थक

• तम्: that (one)
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• परम्: supreme
• परम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• विधिः: Vidhi (Brahmā)
• विधिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (ब्रह्मा)

• विलोकयाम्-चक्रे: he looked upon / beheld
• विलोकयाम्-चक्रे: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + लोक् (धातु)
• Form: परस्मैपद, लिट् (Perfect) परिप्रयोग ‘चक्रे’ सह; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘विलोकयाम्’ = तुमुन्/नामधातु-प्राय? (desiderative periphrasis) — अर्थः “विलोकयितुं चक्रे/विलोकयामास”

• तपसा: by austerity
• तपसा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• अगोचरी-कृतम्: made imperceptible
• अगोचरी-कृतम्: Karma (Object complement/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अगोचर (प्रातिपदिक) + कृ (धातु) → कृत (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष “अगोचरं कृतम्” (made beyond perception)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages (frame; not explicit in verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā (Vidhi), radiant and four-faced, beholds the Supreme cause—womb of the universe—made perceptible through the heat of tapas.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā (Vidhi)
• Paramakāraṇa (cause of causes)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tapas refines perception so the Supreme Cause—source of the cosmos—becomes directly knowable.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī remains the implied sacred context, presenting liberation-knowledge as its distinctive glory.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas (austerity/discipline) is the implied spiritual practice, though no specific vrata or rite is detailed.