Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

त्रिकालं योजयेन्नित्यमेतत्स्तोत्रद्वयंशुभम् । किंजप्तैर्बहुभिः स्तोत्रैश्चंचलश्रीप्रदैर्नृणाम्

Transliteration

trikālaṃ yojayennityametatstotradvayaṃśubham | kiṃjaptairbahubhiḥ stotraiścaṃcalaśrīpradairnṛṇām

Translation

इस शुभ स्तोत्र-द्वय का त्रिकाल में नित्य प्रयोग करना चाहिए। मनुष्यों के लिए उन अनेक स्तोत्रों के जप का क्या प्रयोजन, जो केवल चंचल समृद्धि देते हैं?

Word by Word

• tri-kālam: at the three times (morning/noon/evening)
• tri-kālam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावः; adverb—‘त्रिकालम्’ (at the three times)

• yojayet: should practice/perform
• yojayet: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yuj (युज्) (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; ‘should apply/should practice’

• nityam: always
• nityam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• etat: this
• etat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; used adjectivally

• stotra-dvayam: the pair of hymns
• stotra-dvayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: stotra (प्रातिपदिक) + dvaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘स्तोत्रयोः द्वयम्’ (two hymns)

• śubham: auspicious
• śubham: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; qualifies stotra-dvayam

• kim: what (is the use)
• kim: Prayojana (Rhetorical/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रश्नार्थक-प्रयोगः; interrogative particle ‘what use?’

• japtaiḥ: by recited (ones)
• japtaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jap (जप्) (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), तृतीया (3), बहुवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग; instrumental—‘by recited (hymns)’

• bahubhiḥ: many
• bahubhiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; adjective qualifying stotraiḥ

• stotraiḥ: with hymns
• stotraiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: stotra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; conjunction (समुच्चय)

• cañcala-śrī-pradaiḥ: granting unstable prosperity
• cañcala-śrī-pradaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cañcala (प्रातिपदिक) + śrī (प्रातिपदिक) + prada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘चञ्चला श्रीः यस्य/यां प्रददाति’ → ‘giving fickle prosperity’; qualifies stotraiḥ

• nṛṇām: of men
• nṛṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee chooses a single sacred manuscript labeled ‘stotra-dvaya’ while many ornate scrolls around him glitter with coins and fading flowers; the chosen text emits a steady light, symbolizing stable śubha vs. cañcala-śrī.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Prefer steady, liberation-oriented devotion over practices aimed at temporary worldly gain.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching supports the Kāśī-centered stotra tradition in this chapter, though Kāśī is not named in the verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Chant the auspicious stotra-dvaya at tri-kāla (three daily times).