Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 88

Devanagari script

कलावत्युवाच । नाथ प्रजासृजापूर्वं सृष्टा नानाविधाः प्रजाः । प्रजाहिताय संसृष्टं पुरुषार्थचतुष्टयम्

Transliteration

kalāvatyuvāca | nātha prajāsṛjāpūrvaṃ sṛṣṭā nānāvidhāḥ prajāḥ | prajāhitāya saṃsṛṣṭaṃ puruṣārthacatuṣṭayam

Translation

കലാവതി പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ നാഥാ! പ്രജാസൃഷ്ടിയുടെ ആദിയിൽ നാനാവിധ ജീവികൾ സൃഷ്ടിക്കപ്പെട്ടു; പ്രജാഹിതത്തിനായി ധർമ്മം, അർത്ഥം, കാമം, മോക്ഷം എന്ന പുരുഷാർത്ഥചതുഷ്ടയവും സ്ഥാപിക്കപ്പെട്ടു.

Word by Word

• kalāvatī: Kalāvatī
• kalāvatī: Karta (speaker)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalāvatī (प्रातिपदिक; नाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• nātha: O lord
• nātha: Sambodhana (address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nātha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8), एकवचन

• prajāsṛjā: by the creation of creatures
• prajāsṛjā: Karana (instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā + sṛj (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक-समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (prajānāṃ sṛjā = by the creator/act of creating beings)

• pūrvam: formerly, first
• pūrvam: Kāla (time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrva (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: formerly/first)

• sṛṣṭāḥ: created
• sṛṣṭāḥ: Visheshana (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √sṛj (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; ‘created’ (prajāḥ-विशेषण)

• nānāvidhāḥ: of various kinds
• nānāvidhāḥ: Visheshana (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nānā + vidha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (nānāḥ vidhāḥ)

• prajāḥ: creatures, subjects
• prajāḥ: Karta (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• prajāhitāya: for the welfare of the subjects
• prajāhitāya: Sampradana (purpose/beneficiary)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā + hita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (prajānāṃ hitāya)

• saṃsṛṣṭam: was composed/arranged
• saṃsṛṣṭam: Kriya-viseshana / Predicate adjective
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃ-√sṛj (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; ‘combined/constituted’

• puruṣārthacatuṣṭayam: the four aims of human life
• puruṣārthacatuṣṭayam: Karma / Visheshya (thing constituted)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puruṣārtha + catuṣṭaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (puruṣārthānāṃ catuṣṭayam)

Speaker

Kalāvatī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kalāvatī instructs the king, with a subtle cosmic tableau behind—creation imagery (beings emerging, four symbolic pillars labeled dharma/artha/kāma/mokṣa) blending court and cosmos.

Characters & Entities

• Kalāvatī
• Puruṣārtha (Dharma, Artha, Kāma, Mokṣa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human life is purposeful: it is structured around four aims, with dharma guiding artha and kāma, and mokṣa as the highest fulfillment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is doctrinal; in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa context it supports the later turn toward liberation associated with Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; it lays the philosophical framework of the four aims.