Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 104

Devanagari script

तृतीयो ब्रह्मणः प्रोक्तः सृष्टिसंक्षेपसूचकः । काशीमाहात्म्यसंयुक्तश्चतुर्थः परिपठ्यते

Transliteration

tṛtīyo brahmaṇaḥ proktaḥ sṛṣṭisaṃkṣepasūcakaḥ | kāśīmāhātmyasaṃyuktaścaturthaḥ paripaṭhyate

Translation

La troisième division est dite relever de Brahmā, indiquant un abrégé de la création ; la quatrième, jointe à la grandeur de Kāśī, est pareillement récitée.

Word by Word

• तृतीयः: third
• तृतीयः: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृतीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (विभागः—अनुक्तः)

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahmā
• ब्रह्मणः: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• प्रोक्तः: is said; is declared
• प्रोक्तः: Karta-Samānādhikaraṇa (Subject predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-√वच् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP)

• सृष्टिसंक्षेपसूचकः: indicating the summary of creation
• सृष्टिसंक्षेपसूचकः: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सृष्टि-संक्षेप-सूचक (प्रातिपदिक; सृष्टि + संक्षेप + सूचक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (सृष्टेः संक्षेपं सूचयति इति)

• काशीमाहात्म्यसंयुक्तः: connected with the Kāśī-māhātmya
• काशीमाहात्म्यसंयुक्तः: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काशी-माहात्म्य-सम्-युक्त (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त; काशी + माहात्म्य + सम् + √युज् + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (काश्याः माहात्म्येन संयुक्तः)

• चतुर्थः: the fourth
• चतुर्थः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (विभागः—अनुक्तः)

• परिपठ्यते: is recited; is read
• परिपठ्यते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-√पठ् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A transition tableau: Brahmā’s lotus-born creation motifs (cosmic waters, lotus, four-faced Brahmā) blending into a cityscape of Kāśī with ghāṭas and the Viśvanātha temple axis—showing ‘cosmos to kṣetra’.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas teach both cosmology (creation) and sacred geography; Kāśī is singled out as a major locus of liberative merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), presented as a dedicated Māhātmya-focused division.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it introduces thematic divisions rather than specific rites.