Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 78

Devanagari script

इति श्रीस्कांदे महापुराण एकाशीतिसाहस्र्यां संहितायां चतुर्थे काशीखंड उत्तरार्धे धर्मेशमहिमाख्यानं नामाष्टसप्ततितमोऽध्यायः

Transliteration

iti śrīskāṃde mahāpurāṇa ekāśītisāhasryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ caturthe kāśīkhaṃḍa uttarārdhe dharmeśamahimākhyānaṃ nāmāṣṭasaptatitamo'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Demikianlah, dalam Śrī Skanda Mahāpurāṇa yang suci, dalam himpunan delapan puluh satu ribu śloka, pada bagian keempat, di dalam Kāśī Khaṇḍa (Uttarārdha), berakhir bab kedua puluh delapan yang bernama “Kisah Kemuliaan Dharmeśa.”

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Vākyopasaṃhāra (Closure marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इत्यादि-समाप्तिसूचक (quotative/end marker)

• śrī-skāṃde: in the Śrī Skanda (Purāṇa)
• śrī-skāṃde: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī (प्रातिपदिक) + skānda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय समास; पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन (locative: in the revered Skanda-)

• mahāpurāṇe: in the Mahāpurāṇa
• mahāpurāṇe: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + purāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• ekāśīti-sāhasryām: in the eighty-one-thousand (verses)
• ekāśīti-sāhasryām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ekāśīti (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + sāhasrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन; विशेषणम् (in the eighty-one-thousand [collection])

• saṃhitāyām: in the Saṃhitā
• saṃhitāyām: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃhitā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• caturthe: in the fourth
• caturthe: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: caturtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन; क्रमवाचक विशेषणम् (in the fourth)

• kāśī-khaṇḍe: in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa
• kāśī-khaṇḍe: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + khaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• uttarārdhe: in the latter half
• uttarārdhe: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक) + ardha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष समास; पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• dharmeśa-mahimā-ākhyānam: the account of Dharmeśa’s glory
• dharmeśa-mahimā-ākhyānam: Karta (Title/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharmeśa (प्रातिपदिक) + mahimā (प्रातिपदिक) + ākhyāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन; शीर्षकवाचक (the narrative of the glory of Dharmeśa)

• nāma: named
• nāma: Saṃjñā-sūcaka (Naming marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāma (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नामशब्दः (particle: named/called)

• aṣṭa-saptatitamaḥ: seventy-eighth
• aṣṭa-saptatitamaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭa (संख्या) + saptati (संख्या) + tama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु/संख्यासमास; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन; क्रमवाचक (seventy-eighth)

• adhyāyaḥ: chapter
• adhyāyaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhyāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन

Speaker

Colophon (editorial/narrative closure)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmeśa (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Reciters/readers of the Skanda Purāṇa

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Manuscript-style closing rubric: the chapter title ‘Dharmeśa-mahimākhyāna’ and its placement within Skanda Purāṇa’s Kāśī-khaṇḍa are ceremonially affirmed.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda Purāṇa
• Kāśī Khaṇḍa
• Dharmeśa (Dharmeśvara)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It functions as a textual seal, marking the completion of the Dharmeśa-mahimā narrative within Kāśī’s sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī Khaṇḍa as a whole—especially the Dharmeśa/Dharmeśvara greatness narrative situated in Vārāṇasī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; this is a colophon providing chapter and compilation identifiers.