Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

नगरी प्लाविता स्वप्ने तरंगैः क्षीरनीरधेः । पक्षैस्त्रिचतुरैः शंके महाशंकां पुरौकसाम्

Transliteration

nagarī plāvitā svapne taraṃgaiḥ kṣīranīradheḥ | pakṣaistricaturaiḥ śaṃke mahāśaṃkāṃ puraukasām

Translation

En songe, la cité fut submergée par les vagues d’un océan de lait ; je soupçonne qu’en trois ou quatre quinzaines une grande frayeur s’élèvera pour les habitants de la ville.

Word by Word

• नगरी: the city
• नगरी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नगरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; feminine, nominative singular

• प्लाविता: flooded, made to float
• प्लाविता: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्लु (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; past passive participle, feminine nominative singular

• स्वप्ने: in a dream
• स्वप्ने: Adhikaraṇa (Location/Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वप्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; masculine, locative singular

• तरंगैः: by waves
• तरंगैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तरंग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; masculine, instrumental plural

• क्षीर: milk
• क्षीर: Samāsa-aṅga (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (समासाङ्ग); neuter, nominative/accusative singular (compound member)

• नीरधेः: of the ocean of milk
• नीरधेः: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नीरधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; masculine, genitive singular; समासः: क्षीर-नीरधि (तत्पुरुष: 'ocean of milk')

• पक्षैः: by (within) periods/fortnights
• पक्षैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/Measure/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; masculine, instrumental plural

• त्रि: three
• त्रि: Samāsa-aṅga (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक, अव्ययवत् पूर्वपद (समासाङ्ग); numeral 'three' (compound member)

• चतुरैः: four
• चतुरैः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; numeral/adjective, instrumental plural

• शंके: I suspect, I fear
• शंके: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शङ्क् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; present, 1st person singular, middle

• महा: great
• महा: Samāsa-aṅga (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् पूर्वपद (समासाङ्ग); indeclinable-like first member in compound

• शंकाम्: great fear
• शंकाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; feminine, accusative singular; समासः: महा-शंका (कर्मधारय: 'great fear')

• पुरौकसाम्: of the city-dwellers
• पुरौकसाम्: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरौकस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; masculine, genitive plural

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī / Gaṅgā

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A surreal dream: Kāśī’s lanes and rooftops submerged under luminous white waves like milk; foam curls around temple spires; citizens appear as tiny silhouettes; a narrator counts ‘three or four fortnights’ with anxious certainty.

Characters & Entities

• City (nagarī)
• Kṣīra-samudra (ocean of milk, mythic image)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Collective danger is signaled through symbolic dreams; communities must respond with unity, discipline, and dharmic safeguards.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśī-khaṇḍa setting implies Kāśī’s sacred city, though the verse speaks generally of ‘the city’ in an omen-context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; a time window (three or four pakṣas) is given for the expected crisis.