Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

चतुर्विधानि वाद्यानि शंभुप्रीतिकराण्यलम् । तयोः कर्णगुहां प्राप्य प्रतिशब्दं प्रतन्वते

Transliteration

caturvidhāni vādyāni śaṃbhuprītikarāṇyalam | tayoḥ karṇaguhāṃ prāpya pratiśabdaṃ pratanvate

Translation

Quatre sortes d’instruments de musique, tout à fait capables de réjouir Śambhu, parvenaient jusqu’au creux de leurs oreilles et y déployaient des résonances en retour, comme des échos.

Word by Word

• चतुर्-विधानि: four kinds of
• चतुर्-विधानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (संख्या) + विध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (चतुर्विध = fourfold)

• वाद्यानि: musical instruments/sounds
• वाद्यानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाद्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• शंभु-प्रीति-कराणि: causing Śambhu’s delight
• शंभु-प्रीति-कराणि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शंभु (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रीति (प्रातिपदिक) + कर (कृ धातोः ण्वुल्/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (शंभोः प्रीतिं कुर्वन्ति)

• अलम्: indeed, greatly
• अलम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अलम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (पर्याप्त्यर्थक/indeed, sufficiently; intensifier)

• तयोः: of the two
• तयोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th), द्विवचन

• कर्ण-गुहाम्: the ear-cavity
• कर्ण-गुहाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + गुहा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (कर्णस्य गुहा)

• प्राप्य: having reached
• प्राप्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभाव (gerund), ‘having reached’

• प्रतिशब्दम्: echo, reverberation
• प्रतिशब्दम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रतिशब्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• प्रतन्वते: they extend/produce
• प्रतन्वते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-तन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, द्विवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context) speaking to Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Trilocana-śiva (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrim-seeker interlocutor

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Four classes of instruments resound in the shrine; sound waves seem to enter the pigeons’ ears and return as echo, filling the courtyard with layered reverberation.

Characters & Entities

• Śambhu (Śiva)
• vādyāni (instruments)
• pigeons (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred sound—music offered in worship—pleases Śiva and uplifts all who hear it.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The worship setting at/near Trilocana Śiva’s temple in Kāśī, characterized by devotional music.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Instrumental worship (vādyasevā) as part of temple devotion, implying regular musical offerings during pūjā/ārati.