Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

यावंत एव तालाः स्यु रागास्तावंत एव हि । इति गीतोपनिषदा प्रत्यहं सा शुभव्रता

Transliteration

yāvaṃta eva tālāḥ syu rāgāstāvaṃta eva hi | iti gītopaniṣadā pratyahaṃ sā śubhavratā

Translation

Autant il y a de tālas (mesures rythmiques), autant, en vérité, il y a de rāgas. Ainsi instruite par la «Gītopaniṣad», cette femme aux vœux bénis s’exerçait jour après jour.

Word by Word

• yāvantaḥ: as many as
• yāvantaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yāvat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (masc. nominative plural) — तालाः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• eva: indeed; exactly
• eva: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधारणार्थक (emphatic particle: indeed/only)

• tālāḥ: rhythmic cycles (tālas)
• tālāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (masc. nominative plural)

• syuḥ: may be; are (in statement)
• syuḥ: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative); प्रथमपुरुष; बहुवचनम् (3rd person plural)

• rāgāḥ: melodic modes (rāgas)
• rāgāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (masc. nominative plural)

• tāvantaḥ: that many
• tāvantaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāvat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (masc. nominative plural) — rāgāḥ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• eva: indeed; exactly
• eva: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधारणार्थक (emphatic particle)

• hi: indeed; for
• hi: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थक (particle: for/indeed)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरणार्थक-अव्ययम् (quotative)

• gīta-upaniṣadā: by the Gītopaniṣad (treatise)
• gīta-upaniṣadā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gīta + upaniṣad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया एकवचनम् (fem. instrumental singular) — ‘by/with the Gītopaniṣad’

• pratyaham: every day
• pratyaham: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prati + ahan (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb)

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनम् (fem. nominative singular)

• śubha-vratā: of auspicious vow; virtuous
• śubha-vratā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha + vrata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनम् (fem. nominative singular) — ‘vratā’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devoted woman, instructed by a ‘Gītopaniṣad’, practices daily—counting tāla with fingers while singing a rāga as an offering before a Śiva symbol.

Characters & Entities

• Gītopaniṣadā (teaching on sacred music)
• Oṃkāra (implied by the immediate context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion is sustained through disciplined daily practice; sacred sound (music/rhythm) becomes a vehicle for steadfast worship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting is Kāśī; the chapter’s devotional arc centers on Śiva’s Oṃkāra-liṅga within Kāśī’s sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A pratyaha (daily) observance is implied—regular devotional practice grounded in sacred sound/teaching.