Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

उद्दंडैश्चापि शेहुंडैरेरंडैर्गुडपुष्पकैः । बकुलैस्तिलकैश्चैव तिलकांकितमस्तकम्

Transliteration

uddaṃḍaiścāpi śehuṃḍaireraṃḍairguḍapuṣpakaiḥ | bakulaistilakaiścaiva tilakāṃkitamastakam

Translation

ഉദ്ദണ്ഡ, ശേഹുണ്ട, എരണ്ട, ഗുഡപുഷ്പക; കൂടാതെ ബകുല, തിലക വൃക്ഷങ്ങളാൽ ആ പ്രദേശം ഭൂമിയുടെ നെറ്റിയിൽ ശുഭ തിലകം പതിഞ്ഞതുപോലെ—ധര തന്നെ അഭിഷിക്തയായതുപോലെ തോന്നി।

Word by Word

• uddaṃḍaiḥ: with uddaṃḍa-trees
• uddaṃḍaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uddaṃḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (वृक्षनाम), तृतीया (3rd) बहुवचन — instrumental plural

• ca: and
• ca: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• api: also
• api: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्यय (also)

• śehuṃḍaiḥ: with śehuṃḍa-trees
• śehuṃḍaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śehuṃḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (वृक्षनाम), तृतीया (3rd) बहुवचन — instrumental plural

• eraṃḍaiḥ: with castor plants (eraṇḍa)
• eraṃḍaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eraṃḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd) बहुवचन — instrumental plural

• guḍapuṣpakaiḥ: with guḍapuṣpaka-trees
• guḍapuṣpakaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + puṣpaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमासः (कर्मधारय/षष्ठी-प्रायः), पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd) बहुवचन — instrumental plural

• bakulaiḥ: with bakula-trees
• bakulaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bakula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd) बहुवचन — instrumental plural

• tilakaiḥ: with tilaka-trees
• tilakaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tilaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd) बहुवचन — instrumental plural

• ca: and
• ca: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• tilaka-aṃkita-mastakam: having the head marked with tilaka
• tilaka-aṃkita-mastakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tilaka (प्रातिपदिक) + aṃkita (कृदन्त; √aṅk धातु) + mastaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमासः (‘तिलकेन अङ्कितं मस्तकं’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd) एकवचन — accusative singular

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A personified landscape whose ‘forehead’ is adorned with tilaka-like trees—bakula and tilaka—amid uddaṃḍa plants, śehuṃḍa, castor, and guḍapuṣpaka; the holy ground appears ritually marked and auspicious.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Eraṇḍa (castor)
• Bakula
• Tilaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is intrinsically consecrated—its very terrain is imagined as bearing auspicious marks like a devotee.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), described as a sanctified kṣetra adorned like a worshipper.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; the verse alludes to tilaka as a symbol of sanctity and devotion.