Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

मेढीभूतस्तु वै सर्वान्वायुपाशैर्नियंत्रितान् । आकल्पं तत्पदं तिष्ठ भ्रामयञ्ज्योतिषांगणान्

Transliteration

meḍhībhūtastu vai sarvānvāyupāśairniyaṃtritān | ākalpaṃ tatpadaṃ tiṣṭha bhrāmayañjyotiṣāṃgaṇān

Translation

നീ അച്ചുതണ്ടുപോലെ സ്ഥിരനായി, വായുപാശങ്ങളാൽ എല്ലാവരെയും നിയന്ത്രിക്ക; കല്പാന്തം വരെ ആ പദത്തിൽ നിലകൊണ്ട്, ജ്യോതിഷ്കഗണങ്ങളെ പരിവർത്തിപ്പിക്ക।

Word by Word

• meḍhībhūtaḥ: having become like a post (fixed/immovable)
• meḍhībhūtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: meḍhī (प्रातिपदिक) + bhū (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय/भूतकृत्), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘मेढी-भूत’ = मेढीवत्/स्तम्भवत् अभूत् (become like a post)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषार्थक निपात (but/indeed)

• vai: certainly
• vai: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक निपात (certainly)

• sarvān: all (of them)
• sarvān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; सर्व-शब्द

• vāyupāśaiḥ: by wind-bonds
• vāyupāśaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyu (प्रातिपदिक) + pāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; ‘वायु-पाश’ = वायोः पाशाः (wind-ropes/bonds)

• niyaṃtritān: restrained
• niyaṃtritān: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ni-√yam (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; ‘नियन्त्रित’ = restrained/controlled

• ākalpaṃ: until the end of the kalpa
• ākalpaṃ: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोग; अव्यय (कालपर्यन्तवाचक) = ‘आकल्पम्’ (till the end of a kalpa)

• tatpadam: that post/position
• tatpadam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘तत्-पद’ = that position/state

• tiṣṭha: stand/remain
• tiṣṭha: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• bhrāmayan: causing to revolve
• bhrāmayan: Kriya (Concomitant action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhram (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (शतृ-प्रत्यय/वर्तमानकृदन्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणभावे—‘while causing to revolve’

• jyotiṣāṃgaṇān: the groups of luminaries
• jyotiṣāṃgaṇān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jyotiṣ (प्रातिपदिक) + gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; ‘ज्योतिषां गणाः’ = groups of luminaries (stars/planets)

Speaker

Bhagavān Viṣṇu

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (frame) / pilgrims-devotees (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A deity commands Dhruva to become the fixed cosmic pivot; Dhruva stands luminous and still while planets and star-hosts circle around him, bound by ‘vāyu-pāśa’ (winds/forces).

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Dhruva
• Vāyu
• Jyotiṣ (luminaries)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine reward can be service: the highest boon is to uphold cosmic harmony as an instrument of the Lord’s order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not explicit; this is a cosmological bestowal within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes Dhruva’s appointed function and duration (ākalpa).