Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

अद्य धन्यतराः स्मो वै देवदेवेन यत्स्वयम् । कृतप्रसादाः प्रहिताः श्रीमदानंदकाननम्

Transliteration

adya dhanyatarāḥ smo vai devadevena yatsvayam | kṛtaprasādāḥ prahitāḥ śrīmadānaṃdakānanam

Translation

「今日こそ、まことに我らは最も幸いである。神々の神みずからが慈悲を垂れ、栄光あるアーナンダ・カーナナ――歓喜の林へと我らを遣わされたのだ。」

Word by Word

• adya: today
• adya: Kālādhi karaṇa (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• dhanyatarāḥ: more blessed
• dhanyatarāḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhanya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषण, पुल्लिङ्ग (masculine) (contextual), प्रथमा (nominative/1st), बहुवचन (plural), तरप् (comparative)

• smaḥ: we are
• smaḥ: Kriyā (Copula/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष? (actually उत्तमपुरुष/1st person), बहुवचन (plural), परस्मैपद; रूपम्: स्मः (we are)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha/Avyaya (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• devadevena: by the God of gods
• devadevena: Karaṇa/Hetu (Agent/instrumental cause/करण-हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva-deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी: देवाणां देवः), पुल्लिङ्ग (masculine), तृतीया (instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (singular)

• yat: since/that
• yat: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बन्धबोधक (relative particle), अव्ययवत् प्रयोग (introducing reason: 'since/that')

• svayam: himself
• svayam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (reflexive adverb)

• kṛta-prasādāḥ: having received/obtained favor
• kṛta-prasādāḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √kṛ) + prasāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कृतः प्रसादः येषाम्/कृतप्रसाद), पुल्लिङ्ग (masculine) (contextual), प्रथमा (nominative/1st), बहुवचन (plural)

• prahitāḥ: sent, dispatched
• prahitāḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-hi (धातु) / prahita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुल्लिङ्ग (masculine) (contextual), प्रथमा (nominative/1st), बहुवचन (plural)

• śrīmat-ānanda-kānanam: to the glorious grove of bliss
• śrīmat-ānanda-kānanam: Karma (Destination/object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrīmat (प्रातिपदिक) + ānanda (प्रातिपदिक) + kānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (श्रीमच्च तद् आनन्दं च यत् काननम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

Speaker

Yoginīs (reported within Skanda’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānanda-kānana (within Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yoginīs in mid-flight speak with shining faces: ‘We are blessed today—Devadeva himself has graciously sent us to the glorious Ānanda-kānana.’

Characters & Entities

• Devadeva (Śiva)
• Ānanda-kānana
• Yoginīs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reaching Kāśī is portrayed as Śiva’s personal grace, not merely a human effort—pilgrimage is a fruit of divine favor.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ānanda-kānana, a celebrated epithet for the sacred grove/realm of Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the emphasis is on Śiva’s prasāda (grace) and the sanctity of the destination.