Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 190

Devanagari script

अहो उदर्क एतस्य न कैश्चित्प्रतिपद्यते । अस्माकमपि यद्दूरमदवीयस्तदस्य यत्

Transliteration

aho udarka etasya na kaiścitpratipadyate | asmākamapi yaddūramadavīyastadasya yat

Translation

Hélas ! Nul ne saisit vraiment l’ultime issue de cela. Même ce qui nous paraît lointain est, pour lui, plus lointain encore.

Word by Word

• aho: ah!, alas!/oh!
• aho: Avyaya (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: aho (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्गार (exclamation/particle)

• udarkaḥ: result, consequence, outcome
• udarkaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: udarka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• etasya: of this
• etasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• na: not
• na: Avyaya (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle)

• kaiścit: by anyone (by some people)
• kaiścit: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), बहुवचन; अनिश्चित-सर्वनाम (indefinite: ‘by some/any’)

• pratipadyate: is understood/realized
• pratipadyate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prati + pad (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; भावे/कर्मणि-प्रयोग (is understood/realized/attained)

• asmākam: of us
• asmākam: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• api: also, even
• api: Avyaya (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), ‘also/even’

• yat: which/that
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सूचक (relative pronoun)

• dūram: far
• dūram: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dūra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण/क्रियाविशेषणवत् (as predicate/adv.)

• adavīyaḥ: more remote, harder to reach
• adavīyaḥ: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adavīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तद्धित/विशेषण (comparative-like: ‘more remote/less accessible’)

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• asya: of this/its
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• yat: which/that
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सूचक (relative)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contemplative speaker (sage/king) pauses in awe, indicating that the ‘end-result’ of Kāśī’s sanctity is beyond grasp; the city’s skyline and ghats appear as a vast, receding horizon.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (implicit context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The fruits of sacred acts and sacred places can be immeasurable and beyond ordinary calculation or comprehension.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting is the Kāśī Khaṇḍa; the verse supports the theme that Kāśī-related merit has profound, hard-to-measure results.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; it emphasizes the incomprehensibility of the ultimate spiritual outcome.