Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

केनाध्वना च निर्यातः क्व काले कुरुतश्च किम् । कथं युगपदे तौ मे ग्राह्यौ स्वैरं भविष्यतः

Transliteration

kenādhvanā ca niryātaḥ kva kāle kurutaśca kim | kathaṃ yugapade tau me grāhyau svairaṃ bhaviṣyataḥ

Translation

«Et par quelle voie ressortent-elles ? À quel moment, et faisant quoi ? Comment les saisir toutes deux d’un seul coup, avant qu’elles ne s’égaient en liberté ?»

Word by Word

• kena: by which
• kena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम

• adhvanā: route, way
• adhvanā: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhvan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

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

• niryātaḥ: (they) went out
• niryātaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nir-√yā (या धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; उपसर्गः ‘nir-’; (अत्र: ‘gone out/issued forth’)

• kva: where
• kva: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: place)

• kāle: at what time
• kāle: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• kurutaḥ: you two do
• kurutaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: लट् (परस्मैपद), मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचन; (प्रश्नार्थे)

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

• kim: what
• kim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम

• katham: how
• katham: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: manner)

• yugapade: simultaneously
• yugapade: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yugapad (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: simultaneously)

• tau: those two
• tau: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), द्विवचन; सर्वनाम

• me: my
• me: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• grāhyau: to be caught
• grāhyau: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √grah (ग्रह् धातु)
• Form: यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (gerundive/obligative: ‘to be seized’) पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), द्विवचन

• svairam: freely
• svairam: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svaira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb: freely/at will)

• bhaviṣyataḥ: of the two who will be (free)
• bhaviṣyataḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त भविष्यत्कृदन्त (future participle: ‘going to be’) पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), द्विवचन; ‘of the two who will be’

Speaker

Skanda (contextual narration of the hawk’s thoughts)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages (assumed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close-up of the hawk’s intense face, calculating; imagined lines/arrows showing possible routes and times around the temple; inside, the doves remain calm in the sanctum’s protective glow.

Characters & Entities

• Śyena (hawk)
• Pārāvata couple
• Durgam/refuge
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Predatory intent is shown as frustrated by the ordered, time-bound safety of sacred space.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśī sacred precinct and its Śiva-temples, understood as protective sanctuaries.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is reflective and strategic, highlighting the security of the holy refuge.