Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

दिव्य द्विज उवाच । क एष लोको ऽल्पश्रीकः स्वल्पपुण्यजनाकृतिः । क इमे विकृताकारा ब्रूतमेतन्ममाग्रतः

Transliteration

divya dvija uvāca | ka eṣa loko 'lpaśrīkaḥ svalpapuṇyajanākṛtiḥ | ka ime vikṛtākārā brūtametanmamāgrataḥ

Translation

Sang brāhmaṇa surgawi berkata: “Dunia apakah ini, yang miskin kemuliaan, dipenuhi insan yang sedikit kebajikannya? Dan siapakah makhluk-makhluk berwujud ganjil ini? Katakanlah kepadaku dengan jelas, di hadapanku.”

Word by Word

• divya: O divine one
• divya: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: divya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• dvijaḥ: the twice-born (brahmin)
• dvijaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद; तृतीयपुरुष, एकवचन

• kaḥ: what/which?
• kaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम

• eṣaḥ: this
• eṣaḥ: Visheshya (Apposition to lokaḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; संकेतवाचक-सर्वनाम

• lokaḥ: world/realm
• lokaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन

• alpaśrīkaḥ: of little splendor/fortune
• alpaśrīkaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier of lokaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: alpa-śrīka (प्रातिपदिक-समूह)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—अल्प + श्रीक (having little splendor/fortune)

• svalpapuṇyajanākṛtiḥ: having the appearance of people with little merit
• svalpapuṇyajanākṛtiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier of lokaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su-alpa + puṇya + jana + ākṛti (प्रातिपदिक-समूह)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—svalpa-puṇya (कर्मधारय: little merit) + jana-ākṛti (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: having the form/appearance of people)

• kaḥ: who/what?
• kaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम

• ime: these
• ime: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; संकेतवाचक-सर्वनाम

• vikṛtākārāḥ: having distorted forms
• vikṛtākārāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier of ime)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-kṛta + ākāra (प्रातिपदिक-समूह)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—vikṛta (deformed/altered) + ākāra (form)

• brūtam: tell (you two)
• brūtam: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: brū (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), परस्मैपद; मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचन

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी, एकवचन

• agrataḥ: in front (of me)
• agrataḥ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: agrataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (locative adverb: in front/presence)

Speaker

Divya Dvija (the celestial brāhmaṇa traveler)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (frame typical; not explicit here)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous celestial brāhmaṇa, startled, points toward a bleak worldscape populated by diminished, weary humans and strange misshapen beings; the two gaṇas stand as calm interpreters, ready to explain.

Characters & Entities

• Divya Dvija
• Piśāca-loka (implied next)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cosmic conditions mirror karma: diminished merit leads to diminished splendor and troubled states of existence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī remains the overarching sacred frame, but the verse itself discusses other realms rather than a local tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it sets up a teaching on karmic consequences.