Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 86

Devanagari script

क्षुद्राभिर्माधवीभिश्च पाटला बिल्वचंपकैः । नवमल्लीविचिकिलैः कुंदैः समुचुकुंदकैः

Transliteration

kṣudrābhirmādhavībhiśca pāṭalā bilvacaṃpakaiḥ | navamallīvicikilaiḥ kuṃdaiḥ samucukuṃdakaiḥ

Translation

അവൻ ചെറുപുഷ്പങ്ങൾ, മാധവീ വള്ളികൾ, പാടലാ പുഷ്പങ്ങൾ, ബില്വവും ചമ്പകവും ഉള്ള പുഷ്പങ്ങൾ, പുതുമല്ലികാ വകഭേദങ്ങൾ, സുഗന്ധമുള്ള കുന്ദവും ചുകുന്ദകവും പുഷ്പങ്ങളാൽ ശങ്കരനെ പൂജിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• क्षुद्राभिः: with small (flowers/plants)
• क्षुद्राभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षुद्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण) विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (Feminine, Instrumental case, Plural; adjective)

• माधवीभिः: with mādhavī creepers/flowers
• माधवीभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माधवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण) विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Feminine, Instrumental, Plural)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• पाटलाः: pāṭalā flowers/trees
• पाटलाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाटला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Plural)

• बिल्वचंपकैः: with bilva and campaka (flowers)
• बिल्वचंपकैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बिल्व + चंपक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण) विभक्ति, बहुवचन; द्वन्द्वसमास (Masculine, Instrumental, Plural; copulative compound)

• नवमल्लीविचिकिलैः: with navamallī and vicikila flowers
• नवमल्लीविचिकिलैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नवमल्ली + विचिकिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण) विभक्ति, बहुवचन; द्वन्द्वसमास (Masculine, Instrumental, Plural; copulative compound)

• कुंदैः: with jasmine (kunda) flowers
• कुंदैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुंद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण) विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Plural)

• समुचुकुंदकैः: with samucukundaka flowers
• समुचुकुंदकैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समुचुकुंदक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण) विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Plural)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee in Kāśī offers many kinds of blossoms—mādhavī creepers, pāṭalā, bilva, campaka, fresh jasmine and kunda—arranged in heaps before a Śiva-liṅga, with incense haze and lamp-glow.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkara
• Śukra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion expressed through careful offerings—especially fragrant flowers—becomes a direct mode of honoring Śiva in sacred Kāśī.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as the foremost field for Śiva-worship, where offerings to Śaṅkara are celebrated as especially meritorious.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Puṣpārcana—worship by offering specific flowers and sacred items such as bilva, kunda, and jasmine varieties.