Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

असिधारं गिरिं प्राप्य वशिष्ठस्य तपस्विनः । गुरुर्हिरण्यगर्भाख्यः पंचत्वमगमत्तदा

Transliteration

asidhāraṃ giriṃ prāpya vaśiṣṭhasya tapasvinaḥ | gururhiraṇyagarbhākhyaḥ paṃcatvamagamattadā

Translation

Lorsque l’ascète Vasiṣṭha parvint au mont Asidhāra, son guru nommé Hiraṇyagarbha atteignit alors le pañcatva : il se résorba dans les cinq éléments (c’est-à-dire qu’il s’éteignit).

Word by Word

• असिधारम्: Asidhāra (name of a mountain)
• असिधारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असि (प्रातिपदिक) + धार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (असेः धार इव/असेः धारः) नामरूपेण पर्वतनाम

• गिरिम्: mountain
• गिरिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्राप्य: having reached
• प्राप्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु) + ल्यप्
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), 'having reached'

• वशिष्ठस्य: of Vasiṣṭha
• वशिष्ठस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वशिष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तपस्विनः: of the ascetic
• तपस्विनः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस्विन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (apposition to वशिष्ठस्य)

• गुरुः: the teacher
• गुरुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• हिरण्यगर्भाख्यः: named Hiraṇyagarbha
• हिरण्यगर्भाख्यः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हिरण्यगर्भ (प्रातिपदिक) + आख्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (हिरण्यगर्भ इति आख्यः = named Hiraṇyagarbha)

• पञ्चत्वम्: death; dissolution into the five elements
• पञ्चत्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या) + त्व (तद्धित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (पञ्चानां भावः/समूहः), 'state of five elements' (i.e., death)

• अगमत्: went/attained
• अगमत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/past), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kriya-viseshana (Temporal adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (temporal adverb: 'then')

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Asidhāra-giri (on Kedāra route)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣi-audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vasiṣṭha, austere and radiant, arrives at a sharp, blade-like mountain ridge (Asidhāra). Nearby, the guru Hiraṇyagarbha lies in yogic composure as the body returns to the elements; surrounding ascetics witness in silence.

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• Hiraṇyagarbha
• Asidhāra (mountain)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage narratives frame death as sacred transition; the guru’s pañcatva becomes part of the tīrtha’s dharma-story.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mount Asidhāra, appearing as a sacred waypoint within the Kedāra–Kailāsa sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; it records a pivotal event (pañcatva) in the pilgrimage account.