Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

कदाचिन्मंदरं यामि कदाचिन्मलयाचलम् । कदाचिदंतरीपेषु चरेयं तदुदन्वताम्

Transliteration

kadācinmaṃdaraṃ yāmi kadācinmalayācalam | kadācidaṃtarīpeṣu careyaṃ tadudanvatām

Translation

「ある時はマンダラ山へ、またある時はマラヤ山へ行く。時には、あの大海のただ中にある島々の間をさまよい歩くのだ。」

Word by Word

• कदाचित्: sometimes
• कदाचित्: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कदाचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: "sometimes")

• मन्दरम्: to Mount Mandara
• मन्दरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्दर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• यामि: I go
• यामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present); उत्तम-पुरुष (1st person), एकवचन (Singular); परस्मैपद

• कदाचित्: sometimes
• कदाचित्: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कदाचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• मलयाचलम्: to the Malaya mountain
• मलयाचलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मलय + अचल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मलयस्य अचलः = "Malaya mountain")

• कदाचित्: sometimes
• कदाचित्: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कदाचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• अन्तरीपेषु: on/among islands
• अन्तरीपेषु: Adhikarana (Location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तरीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• चरेयम्: I would roam
• चरेयम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative); उत्तम-पुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तत्: of those
• तत्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम (demonstrative)

• उदन्वताम्: oceans/seas
• उदन्वताम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उदन्वत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन

Speaker

Vinatā (context: speaking of her constrained wandering/servitude)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (primary interlocutor of Kāśīkhaṇḍa, traditionally Śaunaka/ṛṣis in frame; specific not stated in verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vinatā, sorrowful yet majestic, is shown traversing mythic landscapes—Mandara’s towering peak, Malaya’s sandalwood slopes, and distant islands ringed by foaming seas—suggesting endless compelled travel.

Characters & Entities

• Mandara
• Malaya
• udadhis (oceans)
• antarīpas (islands)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly movement across famed lands still cannot remove suffering unless the root-cause of bondage is addressed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is directly praised in this verse; it references renowned sacred geographies (Mandara, Malaya, islands and oceans) as part of the narrative setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is descriptive (travel/wandering) within the storyline.