Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मादिस्थावरांतानि यत्र रूपण्यनेकशः । मामेवोपासते नित्यं चित्रं चित्रगतान्यपि

Transliteration

brahmādisthāvarāṃtāni yatra rūpaṇyanekaśaḥ | māmevopāsate nityaṃ citraṃ citragatānyapi

Translation

Là, des formes de toutes sortes —de Brahmā et au-delà jusqu’aux êtres immobiles— M’adorent sans cesse, Moi seul ; merveille en vérité : même les figures au sein des peintures y font de même.

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मादिस्थावरान्तानि: ending with the immovables beginning with Brahmā
• ब्रह्मादिस्थावरान्तानि: Visheshana (Qualifier of rūpāṇi/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्म-आदि-स्थावर-अन्त (प्रातिपदिक; components: ब्रह्म + आदि + स्थावर + अन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (‘ending with immovables beginning with Brahmā’)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (relative adverb), देशवाचक

• रूपाणि: forms
• रूपाणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• अनेकशः: in many ways / manifoldly
• अनेकशः: Prakara (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनेकशस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), प्रकारवाचक

• माम्: me
• माम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• एव: only/indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (restrictive particle)

• उपासते: they worship
• उपासते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-आस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावेन प्रयुक्तम् (adverbial accusative)

• चित्रम्: wondrously / strange!
• चित्रम्: Sambandha (Exclamation/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (adverbial neuter accusative), विस्मयार्थे

• चित्रगतानि: situated in a picture
• चित्रगतानि: Visheshana (Qualifier of rūpāṇi/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चित्र-गत (प्रातिपदिक; components: चित्र + गत)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (‘gone into/contained in a picture’)

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चयार्थ

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, addressing Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (universal-upāsanā-sthāna motif)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Interlocutor in Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative frame (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inside a grand Kāśī hall, gods, humans, animals, trees, and stones face the Lord in worship; on the walls, painted figures also turn toward the deity, as if the art has come alive in devotion—an enchanted, totalizing sacred panorama.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In the supreme sacred space of Kāśī, devotion is universal and contagious—everything participates in worship, symbolizing the all-pervading Lord.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī as a uniquely charged sacred geography where worship permeates all forms.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, upāsanā (ongoing worship) of the Lord; no single rite is specified.