Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 83

Devanagari script

मनुनापि न यत्प्रापि किमन्यैर्मानवैर्ध्रुव । तत्पदं विहितं त्वत्साच्छक्राद्यैरपि दुर्लभम्

Transliteration

manunāpi na yatprāpi kimanyairmānavairdhruva | tatpadaṃ vihitaṃ tvatsācchakrādyairapi durlabham

Translation

ഹേ ധ്രുവാ! മനുവിനും ലഭിക്കാത്ത ആ പദം മറ്റുമനുഷ്യർക്ക് എങ്ങനെ? അത് നിനക്കായി വിധിക്കപ്പെട്ടതാണ്; ഇന്ദ്രാദി ദേവന്മാർക്കും അതി ദുർലഭം।

Word by Word

• manunā: by Manu
• manunā: Karta (Agent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; ‘by Manu’

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपि-कार (even/also)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation)

• yat: which
• yat: Karma (Relative object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘which’

• prāpi: attained
• prāpi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√āp (धातु)
• Form: लिट्/परस्मैपद (परिपूर्णभूतार्थे), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘प्रापि’ = attained (he attained)

• kim: what (then)
• kim: Sambandha (Rhetorical particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रश्नार्थक/निन्दार्थक प्रयोग; ‘what then (of)...?’

• anyaiḥ: by others
• anyaiḥ: Karta (Agent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; ‘by others’

• mānavaiḥ: by men
• mānavaiḥ: Karta (Agent apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; ‘by humans/men’

• dhruva: O Dhruva
• dhruva: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhruva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• tatpadam: that position
• tatpadam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘that position’

• vihitam: has been ordained
• vihitam: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√dhā (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मणि—‘has been ordained/assigned’

• tvatsāt: from you/by you
• tvatsāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + sāt (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादानार्थक/हेतुवाचक प्रयोग—‘त्वत्सात्’ = from you / due to you / by your agency

• śakrādyaiḥ: by Indra and others
• śakrādyaiḥ: Karta (Agent in comparison)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakra (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; ‘शक्र-आदि’ = Indra and others

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; ‘even’

• durlabham: difficult to obtain
• durlabham: Karta (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dur (उपसर्ग/प्रातिपदिक) + labha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘दुर्लभ’ = hard to obtain

Speaker

Bhagavān Viṣṇu

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis / devotees

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A proclamation of rarity: Dhruva is granted a station beyond what Manu attained and difficult even for Indra; devas appear in the background in reverent astonishment while Dhruva is singled out by a beam of light.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Dhruva
• Manu
• Śakra (Indra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual attainment is not limited by status; devotion and tapas can grant what even exalted beings may not reach.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it remains within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse underscores the rarity of the boon.