Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

श्रुत्वेति देवदेवस्य स प्रेमवचनं हरिः । सर्वज्ञ किंतेऽविदितं तमुवाचेति वृत्रहा

Transliteration

śrutveti devadevasya sa premavacanaṃ hariḥ | sarvajña kiṃte'viditaṃ tamuvāceti vṛtrahā

Translation

દેવદેવના સ્નેહભર્યા વચનો સાંભળી વૃત્રહા ઇન્દ્રે ઉત્તર આપ્યો— “હે સર્વજ્ઞ! તમને અજાણ્યું શું હોઈ શકે?”

Word by Word

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial to main verb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (prior action): ‘having heard’

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरणसूचक अव्यय (quotative particle)

• deva-devasya: of the God of gods
• deva-devasya: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), एकवचन

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• prema-vacanam: a loving statement
• prema-vacanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prema + vacana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (सम्बन्ध/विशेषण-विशेष्यभाव); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), एकवचन

• hariḥ: Hari (Viṣṇu)
• hariḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/nominative), एकवचन

• sarva-jña: O omniscient one
• sarva-jña: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva + jña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय; पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन

• kim: what
• kim: Karma/Prashna (Interrogative object/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• te: to you / of you
• te: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/genitive) एकवचन; ‘of you/your’

• aviditam: unknown
• aviditam: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-vidita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) ‘vidita’ with नञ्-प्रत्यय; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• tam: to him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरणसूचक अव्यय (quotative particle)

• vṛtra-hā: Vṛtra-slayer (Indra)
• vṛtra-hā: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛtra + han (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उपपद-तत्पुरुष (कर्मधारयवत् नामधातु); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Indra (Vṛtrahā)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra, with folded hands, responds to the God of gods’ affectionate words; the Lord is portrayed serene and all-knowing, with a sacred Kāśī backdrop—ghāṭas, river shimmer, and temple silhouettes.

Characters & Entities

• Indra (Vṛtrahā)
• Śiva (Devadeva)
• Vṛtra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True humility recognizes divine omniscience; surrender begins with acknowledging Śiva as Devadeva.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśī setting remains the frame; the dialogue unfolds around Dharmaśvara/Dharmapīṭha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it models bhakti through reverent speech and surrender.