Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

इतिहासं प्रवक्ष्यामि तत्र त्रेतायुगे पुरा । यथावृत्तं कुंभयोने श्रवणात्पातकापहम्

Transliteration

itihāsaṃ pravakṣyāmi tatra tretāyuge purā | yathāvṛttaṃ kuṃbhayone śravaṇātpātakāpaham

Translation

Je vais maintenant raconter un ancien récit sacré du Tretā-yuga, tel qu’il advint, ô Kumbhayoni (Agastya) ; l’entendre seulement détruit les péchés.

Word by Word

• इतिहासम्: a legend/history
• इतिहासम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इतिहास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• प्रवक्ष्यामि: I shall narrate
• प्रवक्ष्यामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + वच् (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), उत्तम-पुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• त्रेतायुगे: in the Tretā age
• त्रेतायुगे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रेता-युग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (त्रेतायाः युगे)

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• यथावृत्तम्: as it happened; truly
• यथावृत्तम्: Kriya-vishesana (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा + वृत्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः; क्रियाविशेषण (manner adverb)

• कुंभयोने: O Pot-born one (Agastya)
• कुंभयोने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुंभ-योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन/सप्तमी-एकवचनरूप (Vocative/Locative sg; contextually सम्बोधन); समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कुंभस्य योनिः)

• श्रवणात्: from hearing; by listening
• श्रवणात्: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Source/हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रवण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन

• पातकापहम्: sin-destroying
• पातकापहम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पातक + अपह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पातकस्य अपहः = remover of sin)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya (Kumbhayoni)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage-narrator begins an ancient Tretā-yuga account before Agastya (Kumbhayoni), emphasizing that mere hearing destroys sins; a quiet āśrama setting with palm-leaf manuscripts and a distant suggestion of Kāśī’s ghāṭs.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya (Kumbhayoni)
• Tretā-yuga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred history (itihāsa) heard with faith is itself a purifier; śravaṇa (listening) becomes a means of removing pāpa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse frames a Kāśī-khaṇḍa narration; the broader context is the greatness of Kāśī and its connected tīrthas, though no single site is named in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa—devout listening to the purāṇic account—is presented as a sin-destroying spiritual practice.