Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

त्वया यथा समाकर्णि तदुत्संगनिवासिना । तथा कथय षड्वक्त्र तत्क्षेत्रं मेऽतिरोचते

Transliteration

tvayā yathā samākarṇi tadutsaṃganivāsinā | tathā kathaya ṣaḍvaktra tatkṣetraṃ me'tirocate

Translation

അവളുടെ മടിയിൽ വസിക്കുന്നവനായ (ശിവനിൽ) നിന്നു നീ എങ്ങനെ കേട്ടുവോ, അതുപോലെ തന്നെ പറയുക, ഹേ ഷഡ്വക്ത്രാ; ആ ക്ഷേത്രം എനിക്ക് അത്യന്തം രമ്യമാണ്।

Word by Word

• त्वया: by you
• त्वया: Kartr̥/Hetu (Agent/Instrumental)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/स्त्री (सर्वनाम), तृतीया (3/करण), एकवचन; instrumental singular

• यथा: as
• यथा: Sambandha (Correlative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; as/how

• समाकर्णि: you heard
• समाकर्णि: Kriyā (Main action in subordinate clause)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-√कर्ण्/√श्रु (धातु; ‘to hear’)
• Form: लुङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/Aorist), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; 2nd person singular aorist: 'you heard'

• तत्-उत्सङ्ग-निवासिना: by the one dwelling in his lap
• तत्-उत्सङ्ग-निवासिना: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of implied agent)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम) + उत्सङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + निवासिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3/करण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास: 'तस्य उत्सङ्गे निवासिन्' (dwelling in his lap)

• तथा: in the same way
• तथा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; thus/in that manner

• कथय: tell/narrate
• कथय: Kriyā (Command)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कथ् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; 2nd person singular imperative

• षड्वक्त्र: O Six-faced one
• षड्वक्त्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षट् (संख्या) + वक्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि: 'षड् वक्त्राणि यस्य' (six-faced)

• तत्-क्षेत्रम्: that holy region
• तत्-क्षेत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम) + क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2/कर्म), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'तत् क्षेत्रम्' (that sacred place)

• मे: to me
• मे: Sampradāna/Sambandha (to me)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी एकवचन (enclitic); genitive/dative singular 'to me/of me'

• अतिरोचते: pleases greatly/appeals
• अतिरोचते: Kriyā (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अति-√रुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान/Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; 3rd person singular ātmanepada

Speaker

Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and other sages (frame implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Agastya, eager for Kāśī’s kṣetra-kathā, addresses Skanda as Ṣaḍvaktra, requesting an exact retelling of what Skanda heard from Śiva in Pārvatī’s lap-presence.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Ṣaḍvaktra (Skanda)
• Avimukta-kṣetra (implied Kāśī)
• Śiva
• Pārvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred place-glory is best received as faithfully transmitted teaching, not as invention—śruti-like fidelity to the lineage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Avimukta-kṣetra of Kāśī (Vārāṇasī).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the focus is on accurate narration of the māhātmya.