Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

आश्चर्यहेतुरेवायं यत्पुंजातं त्रयीतले । तद्दृष्टं सकलत्रं च दक्षस्याध्वरमंडपे

Transliteration

āścaryaheturevāyaṃ yatpuṃjātaṃ trayītale | taddṛṣṭaṃ sakalatraṃ ca dakṣasyādhvaramaṃḍape

Translation

Voici, en vérité, la cause de l’étonnement : ce qui s’est produit sur la terre. Tout cet événement fut vu dans l’enceinte sacrificielle de Dakṣa.

Word by Word

• āścarya-hetuḥ: cause of wonder
• āścarya-hetuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āścarya (प्रातिपदिक) + hetu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: आश्चर्यस्य हेतुः

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle: indeed/only)

• ayam: this (one)
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (इदम्-प्रातिपदिक, सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• yat: which/that which
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद्-प्रातिपदिक, सर्वनाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); सम्बन्धसूचक (relative)

• puṃjātam: male offspring/son
• puṃjātam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṃjāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• trayī-tale: in the sphere of the three Vedas
• trayī-tale: Adhikaraṇa (Place/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: trayī (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: त्रय्याः तलम् = in the realm/ground of the three Vedas

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्-प्रातिपदिक, सर्वनाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• dṛṣṭam: seen
• dṛṣṭam: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु: दृश्—दर्शने)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Singular)

• sakala-tram: the whole household
• sakala-tram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sakala (प्रातिपदिक) + tra (प्रातिपदिक: tra/त्र = wife/household; here as collective)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषार्थ: सकलं त्रं = whole household/family

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction: and)

• dakṣasya: of Dakṣa
• dakṣasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• adhvara-maṃḍape: in the sacrificial pavilion
• adhvara-maṃḍape: Adhikaraṇa (Place/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhvara (प्रातिपदिक) + maṃḍapa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: अध्वरस्य मण्डपः

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue tradition, Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dakṣa-yajña-sthala (mythic)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast sacrificial pavilion with altars, priests, and offerings; an onlooker points to the unfolding unprecedented event, the atmosphere charged as if the very earth is affected.

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣa
• Adhvara (Yajña)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pride and misaligned sacrifice become sources of upheaval; Purāṇic memory frames such events as warnings and teachings for dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse points to Dakṣa’s adhvara-maṇḍapa (sacrificial site) as a narrative locus; the surrounding chapter remains within Kāśī Khaṇḍa discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No prescription; it references a yajña setting as part of a story.