Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

उपांशुस्तच्छतगुणः सहस्रो मानसस्ततः

Transliteration

upāṃśustacchataguṇaḥ sahasro mānasastataḥ

Translation

Japa yang diucapkan lirih (upāṃśu) memberi pahala seratus kali lipat; dan sesudah itu japa batin (mānasa) memberi pahala seribu kali lipat.

Word by Word

• उपांशुः: (japa) in a low voice
• उपांशुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपांशु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (demonstrative)

• शतगुणः: hundredfold
• शतगुणः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक) + गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः

• सहस्रः: thousandfold
• सहस्रः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (elliptic: ‘गुणः’ understood)

• मानसः: mental (japa)
• मानसः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (japaḥ understood)

• ततः: thereafter, then
• ततः: Adhikarana/Sequence (Context/क्रम)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Three-panel symbolic depiction: (1) devotee chanting softly with lips moving, (2) whispering with hand near mouth, (3) eyes closed with a radiant inner syllable (oṃ/śiva) in the heart-lotus; Kāśī ghats as a continuous backdrop.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Kāśī (implied context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The subtler the practice (from vocal to whispered to mental), the greater the purity and merit attributed to it.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse belongs to the Kāśī Khaṇḍa milieu, where japa is upheld as a prime sādhana for seekers in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It ranks modes of japa, recommending upāṃśu (whispered) and especially mānasa (mental) repetition for higher fruit.