Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

तथापि शांभवी शक्तिर्वेदे विष्णुः प्रपठ्यते । वामांगं स्रष्टुराद्यस्य हरिस्तदितरद्विधिः

Transliteration

tathāpi śāṃbhavī śaktirvede viṣṇuḥ prapaṭhyate | vāmāṃgaṃ sraṣṭurādyasya haristaditaradvidhiḥ

Translation

Pourtant, dans le Veda, Viṣṇu est récité comme la Puissance Śāmbhavī. Hari est le côté gauche du Créateur primordial ; l’autre côté est Vidhī (Brahmā).

Word by Word

• tathāpi: nevertheless
• tathāpi: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय) + api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययसमुच्चय (concessive particle): ‘तथापि’ = ‘even so/however’

• śāṃbhavī: Śāmbhavī (of Śambhu)
• śāṃbhavī: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śāṃbhavī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• śaktiḥ: power/Śakti
• śaktiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• vede: in the Veda
• vede: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• viṣṇuḥ: Viṣṇu
• viṣṇuḥ: Karma (Object in passive/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• prapaṭhyate: is recited
• prapaṭhyate: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√paṭh (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (Passive sense): ‘is recited/read’

• vāma-aṅgam: the left limb/side
• vāma-aṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāma (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः: ‘वामं अङ्गम्’

• sraṣṭuḥ: of the creator
• sraṣṭuḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sraṣṭṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• ādyasya: of the primordial (one)
• ādyasya: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ādya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; विशेषण (sraṣṭuḥ)

• hariḥ: Hari
• hariḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• tat-itarat: the other part (than that)
• tat-itarat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + itara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘तस्मात् इतरत्’ = ‘the other than that’

• vidhiḥ: Vidhī (Brahmā)
• vidhiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Dadhīci

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣi audience / interlocutor in Kāśī narrative

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic cosmological tableau: the primordial creator form shown with left side as Hari (Viṣṇu) and the complementary side as Vidhī (Brahmā), with a subtle Śāmbhavī-śakti radiance pervading; Vedic chant scrolls or ṛṣis reciting in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu (Hari)
• Śāmbhavī Śakti
• Vidhī (Brahmā)
• Veda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse emphasizes theological unity: divine functions and powers interpenetrate—supporting a non-sectarian vision within the Kāśī Māhātmya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly Kāśī, by grounding its maṅgalya in Vedic theology and the unity of Hari and Śiva’s power.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it references Vedic prapaṭhana (recitation/authority) as doctrinal support.