Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 84

Devanagari script

यथायथा हि वर्धेत जलमेकार्णवस्य च । तथातथोन्नयेदीशस्तत्क्षेत्रं प्रलयादपि

Transliteration

yathāyathā hi vardheta jalamekārṇavasya ca | tathātathonnayedīśastatkṣetraṃ pralayādapi

Translation

ഏകാർണവത്തിന്റെ ജലം എത്ര എത്രയായി ഉയരുന്നുവോ, അത്ര അത്രയായി ഈശ്വരൻ ആ ക്ഷേത്രപ്രദേശത്തെ ഉയർത്തി നിലനിർത്തുന്നു—പ്രളയകാലത്തിലും.

Word by Word

• yathā-yathā: as and as; whenever
• yathā-yathā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय) + yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय-युग्म (correlative adverb), पुनरुक्ति-प्रयोग: ‘as and as/whenever’

• hi: indeed; for
• hi: Particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• vardheta: would increase
• vardheta: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vṛdh (वृध्)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• jalam: water
• jalam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• ekārṇavasya: of the single ocean (cosmic flood)
• ekārṇavasya: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + arṇava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (‘एकः अर्णवः’)

• ca: and
• ca: Conjunction
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात (conjunction)

• tathā-tathā: accordingly; in that same way
• tathā-tathā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय) + tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय-युग्म (correlative adverb), पुनरुक्ति-प्रयोग: ‘so and so/accordingly’

• unnayet: would raise up; would lift
• unnayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-√nī (नी)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• īśaḥ: the Lord
• īśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम विशेषण

• kṣetram: the sacred field
• kṣetram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• pralayāt: from the dissolution (pralaya)
• pralayāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pralaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; अपादानार्थ (from)

• api: even; also
• api: Particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (also/even)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta / Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇa addressee / sages in listening assembly

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast pralaya-ocean (ekārṇava) rising; above it, Śiva lifts Kāśī like a radiant island-platform, with Viśveśvara’s liṅga shining, untouched by waters.

Characters & Entities

• Īśa (Śiva)
• Ekārṇava
• Pralaya
• Avimukta (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine grace preserves Kāśī: even cosmic dissolution cannot submerge the Lord’s chosen sacred ground.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Avimukta/Kāśī, portrayed as protected and upheld by Īśa (Śiva) even at pralaya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; the verse asserts the kṣetra’s indestructible sanctity.