Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

कथमेषा त्रिलोकीड्या गीयते मणिकर्णिका । तत्रासीत्किं पुरास्वामिन्यदा नामरनिम्नगा

Transliteration

kathameṣā trilokīḍyā gīyate maṇikarṇikā | tatrāsītkiṃ purāsvāminyadā nāmaranimnagā

Translation

മണികർണികാ ത്രിലോകമൊട്ടാകെ പ്രശസ്തയായി എങ്ങനെ പാടപ്പെടുന്നു? സ്വാമീ, ആ നദി പേരോടെ അറിയപ്പെട്ട ആദികാലത്ത് അവിടെ എന്തുണ്ടായിരുന്നു?

Word by Word

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Prakāra (Manner—interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (manner)

• एषा: this (she/this one)
• एषा: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; संकेतक (demonstrative)

• त्रिलोकीड्या: praised by the three worlds
• त्रिलोकीड्या: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रिलोकी + ईड्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (त्रिलोकेन ईड्या = ‘praised by the three worlds’), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (of ‘एषा/मणिकर्णिका’)

• गीयते: is sung/praised
• गीयते: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √गै (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• मणिकर्णिका: Maṇikarṇikā (name of the sacred place)
• मणिकर्णिका: Karta (Subject complement/apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मणि + कर्णिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-समासः (मणिरिव कर्णिका / मणिसम्बद्धा कर्णिका), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• आसीत्: was/existed
• आसीत्: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• किम्: what?
• किम्: Karma/Prashna (Interrogative complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Kāla (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: formerly)

• स्वामिन्: O lord
• स्वामिन्: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वामिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन विभक्ति, एकवचन

• यदा: when
• यदा: Kāla (Time—relative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्धबोधक-अव्यय (relative adverb: when)

• नाम: indeed/namely
• नाम: Nipāta (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; emphasis/quotative)

• अरनिम्नगा: the river Ara
• अरनिम्नगा: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर + निम्नगा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (अर-नाम्नी निम्नगा = ‘the river named Ara’), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Agastya (deduced; continuing questions)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inquiry about Maṇikarṇikā’s tri-loka fame and the ancient naming of the river: a vista of the ghāṭa with sacred fires, priests, pilgrims, and the Gaṅgā shimmering—balanced between awe and solemnity.

Characters & Entities

• Maṇikarṇikā
• Triloka
• Nimnagā (river)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse elevates a specific Kāśī site—Maṇikarṇikā—as cosmically significant, inviting a mythic explanation of its sanctity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Maṇikarṇikā in Kāśī, famed as a supreme tīrtha/ghāṭa in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa tradition.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it is an inquiry into the site’s fame and primeval background.