Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

शब्दादिविषयाधारं सारं दामोदरं परम् । ध्रुवेंद्रियाणि संप्राप्य कृतार्थान्यभवंस्तदा

Transliteration

śabdādiviṣayādhāraṃ sāraṃ dāmodaraṃ param | dhruveṃdriyāṇi saṃprāpya kṛtārthānyabhavaṃstadā

Translation

ശബ്ദാദി വിഷയങ്ങളുടെ അധാരവും സാരസ്വരൂപനുമായ പരമ ദാമോദരനെ പ്രാപിച്ചതോടെ ധ്രുവന്റെ ഇന്ദ്രിയങ്ങൾ സ്ഥിരമായി; അപ്പോൾ അവ യഥാർത്ഥത്തിൽ കൃതാർത്ഥമായി.

Word by Word

• शब्दादिविषयाधारम्: the support/basis of objects such as sound
• शब्दादिविषयाधारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शब्द + आदि + विषय + आधार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (शब्दादीनां विषयाणाम् आधारः)

• सारम्: the essence
• सारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• दामोदरम्: Dāmodara (Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa)
• दामोदरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दामोदर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेष्य-नाम

• परम्: supreme
• परम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• ध्रुवेन्द्रियाणि: the steady senses
• ध्रुवेन्द्रियाणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्रुव + इन्द्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (ध्रुवाणि इन्द्रियाणि)

• संप्राप्य: having attained
• संप्राप्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + प्र + आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); ‘having attained/obtained’

• कृतार्थानि: fulfilled, successful
• कृतार्थानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (कृतः अर्थः येषाम्/येषु) = सफलानि; विशेषणम् (ध्रुवेन्द्रियाणि)

• अभवन्: became
• अभवन्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the sages (typical frame; not explicit here)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tapasvin in Kāśī attains vision of the supreme Dāmodara as a luminous, all-pervading substratum; the senses (depicted as five rays) become steady and settle into a central light.

Characters & Entities

• Dāmodara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When one attains the Lord as the underlying support of all experience, the senses become stable and find their true purpose.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The larger Kāśīkhaṇḍa glorifies Kāśī as a field of liberation; this verse is theological, not a site-description.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; it implies meditative devotion that recognizes the Lord as the basis of all perception.