Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

समाः सहस्रं पंचाशत्तप उग्रं चचार सः । चक्रपुष्कीरणी तीरे तत्र स्थाणुसमाकृतिः

Transliteration

samāḥ sahasraṃ paṃcāśattapa ugraṃ cacāra saḥ | cakrapuṣkīraṇī tīre tatra sthāṇusamākṛtiḥ

Translation

അവൻ ചക്ര-പുഷ്കരിണിയുടെ തീരത്ത് തൂണുപോലെ അനങ്ങാതെ നിന്നുകൊണ്ട് ആയിരത്തി അമ്പത് വർഷം ഭീകരമായ തപസ്സ് അനുഷ്ഠിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• समाः: years
• समाः: Karma (काल-परिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन; कालपरिमाणवाचक (duration)

• सहस्रम्: a thousand
• सहस्रम्: Visheshana (संख्या-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक

• पञ्चाशत्: fifty
• पञ्चाशत्: Visheshana (संख्या-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्चाशत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (संख्याशब्द), द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; ‘fifty’

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• उग्रम्: fierce
• उग्रम्: Karma (object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• चचार: practised/performed
• चचार: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• चक्रपुष्कीरिणीतीरे: on the bank of the Cakra-Puṣkiriṇī (pond)
• चक्रपुष्कीरिणीतीरे: Adhikarana (स्थान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्र + पुष्कीरिणी + तीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): चक्रपुष्कीरिण्याः तीरम्; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (स्थान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: स्थानवाचक अव्यय

• स्थाणुसमाकृतिः: (one) having a form like a pillar
• स्थाणुसमाकृतिः: Karta (वर्ण्य-विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थाणु + समाकृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (कर्मधारय): स्थाणुरिव समाकृतिः; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता/वर्णन), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Cakra-puṣkariṇī

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: In-text audience (sages/king) as per Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative frame (not specified in verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On the serene bank of the circular tank, Mahāviṣṇu stands upright like a stone pillar, eyes closed, aura of heat shimmering; seasons pass—sun, rain, and mist cycle around him—while the water remains luminous beside him.

Characters & Entities

• Hari
• Cakra-puṣkariṇī
• Kāśī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steadfast discipline—stillness of body and firmness of resolve—ripens spiritual vision and divine grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The bank (tīra) of Cakra-puṣkariṇī, a Kāśī tīrtha associated with Viṣṇu’s tapas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse highlights tapas (austerity) as the practice; no specific dāna, snāna, or mantra is stated here.