Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

क्षेत्रैकदेशवर्तिन्या ज्ञानवाप्याः कथां पराम् । श्रुत्वेमामिति मन्येहं गौरीहृदयनंदन

Transliteration

kṣetraikadeśavartinyā jñānavāpyāḥ kathāṃ parām | śrutvemāmiti manyehaṃ gaurīhṛdayanaṃdana

Translation

聖なるクシェートラ（kṣetra）の一隅にある「智慧の井戸」についてのこの至上の物語を聞いて、私は今こう思う。ああ、ガウリー（Gaurī）の心を喜ばせる御方よ。

Word by Word

• क्षेत्रैकदेशवर्तिन्या: by (that) abiding in a single part of the sacred field
• क्षेत्रैकदेशवर्तिन्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षेत्र + एक + देश + वर्तिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine) — समासः: क्षेत्रस्य एकदेशे वर्तते इति (क्षेत्रैकदेशवर्तिनी), तया

• ज्ञानवाप्याः: of the well of knowledge
• ज्ञानवाप्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान + वापी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठीविभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine) — समासः: ज्ञानस्य वापी

• कथाम्: story/discourse
• कथाम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• पराम्: supreme
• पराम्: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √श्रु (शृणोति) (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable verbal), ‘having heard’

• इमाम्: this
• इमाम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (Pronoun), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्तिबोधक अव्यय (quotative particle)

• मन्ये: I think
• मन्ये: Kriya (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √मन् (मन्यते) (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद (Ātmanepada), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन (Singular)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (Pronoun), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• गौरीहृदयनन्दन: O delight of Gaurī’s heart
• गौरीहृदयनन्दन: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गौरी + हृदय + नन्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बोधनप्रथमा (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine) — समासः: गौर्याः हृदयस्य नन्दनः

Speaker

Agastya (deduced; addressing Skanda)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jñānavāpī

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Addressed to ‘Gaurīhṛdayānandana’ (Śiva) as vocative; broader audience includes Śikhiratha in the surrounding passage

Visual Art Cues

Scene: After hearing the supreme story of Jñānavāpī, the speaker addresses ‘Gaurī-hṛdayānandana’ (Śiva) with renewed conviction; the well is envisioned as a luminous, knowledge-giving spring within Kāśī’s sacred quarter.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Gaurī (Pārvatī)
• Jñānavāpī
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even a specific sub-region within Kāśī kṣetra can carry profound liberating significance when its māhātmya is heard.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Jñānavāpī (the ‘Well of Knowledge’) located within a part of Kāśī kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed; the verse foregrounds hearing the kathā (māhātmya-śravaṇa).