Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 77

Devanagari script

अथ तौ कालयोगेन विपन्नौ सरयूतटे । मुक्तिपुर्यामयोध्यायामेको विद्याधरोऽभवत्

Transliteration

atha tau kālayogena vipannau sarayūtaṭe | muktipuryāmayodhyāyāmeko vidyādharo'bhavat

Translation

Avec le temps, tous deux connurent le malheur sur la rive de la Sarayū ; et l’un d’eux renaquit comme Vidyādhara à Ayodhyā, la cité fameuse qui accorde la délivrance.

Word by Word

• अथ: then; now
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (indeclinable; sequential/beginning particle)

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन (dual) (pronoun)

• कालयोगेन: by the conjunction of time; in due course
• कालयोगेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक) + योग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कालस्य योगः) (instrumental singular)

• विपन्नौ: ruined; fallen into misfortune
• विपन्नौ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + पद् (धातु) → विपन्न (कृदन्त, भूतकृदन्त/क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण (past participle)

• सरयूतटे: on the bank of the Sarayū
• सरयूतटे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरयू (प्रातिपदिक) + तट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सरय्वाः तटः) (locative singular)

• मुक्तिपुर्याम्: in the city of liberation
• मुक्तिपुर्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुक्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + पुरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मुक्तेः पुरी) (locative singular)

• अयोध्यायाम्: in Ayodhyā
• अयोध्यायाम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयोध्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (locative singular)

• एकः: one; a certain
• एकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (adjectival numeral)

• विद्याधरः: a Vidyādhara
• विद्याधरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विद्या (प्रातिपदिक) + धर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (विद्यां धरति) (nominative singular)

• अभवत्: became; was
• अभवत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (imperfect/past); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, typically Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarayū-taṭa / Ayodhyā

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two figures struck by fate on the sandy bank of the Sarayū; the narrative shifts to a luminous aerial Vidyādhara rebirth over Ayodhyā’s sacred skyline.

Characters & Entities

• Sarayū
• Ayodhyā
• Vidyādhara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Time (kāla) governs embodied fate; yet birth in a mokṣa-purī like Ayodhyā is presented as spiritually significant.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ayodhyā is praised as a mukti-purī, with the Sarayū riverbank as the narrative setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed in this verse; it establishes karmic movement and sacred geography.