Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

अभूम भूरिशः शंभो न क्वापि स्थैर्यमागताः । इतोयोनेस्ततो योनौ ततो योनेस्ततोन्यतः

Transliteration

abhūma bhūriśaḥ śaṃbho na kvāpi sthairyamāgatāḥ | itoyonestato yonau tato yonestatonyataḥ

Translation

Ô Śambhu, nous avons existé d’innombrables façons, et pourtant nulle part nous n’avons trouvé la stabilité—passant d’une naissance à une autre, puis encore à une autre.

Word by Word

• अभूम: we became / we were
• अभूम: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (अorist), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘we became/were’

• भूरिशः: many (times/people)
• भूरिशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूरिश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता/1st case), बहुवचन; ‘many (persons)’

• शंभो: O Śambhu (Śiva)
• शंभो: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शम्भु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle)

• क्वापि: anywhere
• क्वापि: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व + अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक अव्यय (adverb of place) ‘anywhere’

• स्थैर्यम्: steadiness, stability
• स्थैर्यम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थैर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म/2nd case), एकवचन

• आगताः: attained / reached
• आगताः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘having reached/attained’ (used predicatively with implied ‘we’)

• इतस्: from here
• इतस्: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इतस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, दिशावाचक (ablatival adverb) ‘from here’

• योनेः: from a womb/birth
• योनेः: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (अपादान/5th case), एकवचन

• ततः: then/from there
• ततः: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, तस्मात्-अर्थे (ablatival adverb) ‘then/from there’

• योनौ: in a womb/birth
• योनौ: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण/7th case), एकवचन

• ततः: then/from there
• ततः: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, ‘then/from there’

• योनेः: from a womb/birth
• योनेः: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (अपादान/5th case), एकवचन

• ततः: then/from there
• ततः: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, ‘then/from there’

• अन्यतः: from elsewhere / otherwise
• अन्यतः: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्यतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, ‘elsewhere/from another (place/state)’

Speaker

Pilgrims/supplicants (addressing Śiva in Kāśī; contextually within Skanda’s narration to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visual sequence of translucent overlays: the same soul appearing as different beings (human, animal, bird), walking in a circle, then turning toward a steady Śiva shrine in Kāśī that stands unmoving amid the flux.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Śambhu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Saṃsāra offers no lasting ground; only turning to Śiva and liberating knowledge brings true steadiness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the chapter’s sacred frame, where Śiva is especially accessible and salvific.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it functions as a lament that motivates seeking grace.