Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

पुरा महीमिमां सर्वां ससमुद्राद्रिकाननाम् । ससरित्कां सार्णवां च सग्रामपुरपत्तनाम्

Transliteration

purā mahīmimāṃ sarvāṃ sasamudrādrikānanām | sasaritkāṃ sārṇavāṃ ca sagrāmapurapattanām

Translation

Autrefois, un sage parcourut toute cette terre, avec ses mers, ses montagnes et ses forêts; avec ses rivières et ses eaux; avec ses villages, ses cités et ses bourgs.

Word by Word

• पुरा: formerly, once
• पुरा: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: formerly/once)

• महीम्: the earth
• महीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन (feminine, accusative, singular)

• इमाम्: this
• इमाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (demonstrative pronoun used adjectivally: this)

• सर्वाम्: entire, all
• सर्वाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (feminine, accusative, singular)

• स-समुद्र-अद्रि-काननाम्: with oceans, mountains, and forests
• स-समुद्र-अद्रि-काननाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समुद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + अद्रि (प्रातिपदिक) + कानन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; उपसर्जन-तत्पुरुषसमास (समुद्र-अद्रि-कानन-युक्ता) + सह-उपपद (sa- = 'with')

• स-सरित्काम्: with rivers
• स-सरित्काम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सरित् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सह-उपपद (sa- = 'with')

• स-अर्णवाम्: with seas/oceans
• स-अर्णवाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सह-उपपद (sa- = 'with')

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction: and)

• स-ग्राम-पुर-पत्तनाम्: with villages, cities, and towns
• स-ग्राम-पुर-पत्तनाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ग्राम (प्रातिपदिक) + पुर (प्रातिपदिक) + पत्तन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्वन्द्वसमास (ग्राम-पुर-पत्तन) + सह-उपपद (sa- = 'with')

Speaker

Skanda

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lone ascetic’s long pilgrimage across a vast earthscape—seas, mountains, forests, rivers—passing through villages, towns, and cities, suggesting exhaustive seeking.

Characters & Entities

• Earth (Mahī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage and seeking are portrayed as universal—spiritual pursuit spans the whole world, preparing the seeker for the highest tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it introduces the wide-ranging pilgrimage that leads into the Kāśī-centered narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse frames the practice of paribhramaṇa (holy wandering) as a purāṇic ideal.