Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

त्वं वृद्धकालो भूपालः श्रुत्वेत्याशीः परंपराम् । स्मरिष्यसीदं वृत्तांतं पुलकांकवपुस्तदा

Transliteration

tvaṃ vṛddhakālo bhūpālaḥ śrutvetyāśīḥ paraṃparām | smariṣyasīdaṃ vṛttāṃtaṃ pulakāṃkavapustadā

Translation

ഹേ ഭൂപാലാ! നീ വാർദ്ധക്യത്തിലാകുമ്പോൾ ഈ ആശീർവാദ-പരമ്പര ശ്രവിച്ച്, ഭക്തിരോമാഞ്ചം നിറഞ്ഞ ദേഹത്തോടെ ഈ വൃത്താന്തം സ്മരിക്കും।

Word by Word

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; मध्यमपुरुष-संबोधनार्थः

• वृद्धकालः: aged/advanced in years
• वृद्धकालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृद्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—वृद्धः कालः यस्य/वृद्धः कालः (कर्मधारय); विशेषणम् (त्वम्/भूपालः)

• भूपालः: O king
• भूपालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूपाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; संबोधन-प्रायः

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययभाव/gerund), पूर्वकाले; "having heard"

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Discourse marker/उद्धरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्य-समाप्ति सूचक अव्यय (quotative particle)

• आशीः: a blessing
• आशीः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आशिस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म/2nd), एकवचन; "आशीस्" (blessing)

• परंपराम्: in succession / as a tradition
• परंपराम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परंपरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण-भावे—"क्रमेण/परम्परया" इत्यर्थः

• स्मरिष्यसि: you will remember
• स्मरिष्यसि: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्/future), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; "you will remember"

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; निर्देश्य-वस्तु

• वृत्तान्तम्: account/episode
• वृत्तान्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृत्तान्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• पुलकाङ्कवपुः: with body bristling (in horripilation)
• पुलकाङ्कवपुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुलक (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्क (प्रातिपदिक) + वपुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—पुलकेन अङ्कितं वपुः यस्य (one whose body is marked with horripilation); विशेषणम् (त्वम्)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (as the remembered pilgrimage and blessing-lineage)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhūpāla (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An aged king sits quietly, eyes moist; as he recalls the sacred account, goosebumps rise; behind him, faint visionary glimpses of Kāśī’s ghāṭas and Viśveśvara.

Characters & Entities

• Bhūpāla (the king)
• Kāśī
• Viśveśvara/Viśvanātha (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True sacred counsel endures across a lifetime, ripening into heartfelt devotion and remembrance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the implied sacred horizon, as the blessings point the king toward Viśveśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; it describes remembrance and devotional bodily response (pulaka).