Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

पाराशर्य उवाच । शृणु सूत महाभाग कथां श्रुतिसहोदराम् । यां वै हृदि निधायेह पुरुषः पुरुषार्थभाक्

Transliteration

pārāśarya uvāca | śṛṇu sūta mahābhāga kathāṃ śrutisahodarām | yāṃ vai hṛdi nidhāyeha puruṣaḥ puruṣārthabhāk

Translation

പാരാശര്യൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ മഹാഭാഗ സൂതാ! ശ്രുതിയോടു സഹോദരിയായ ഈ പവിത്രകഥ കേൾക്കുക; ഇതിനെ ഹൃദയത്തിൽ നിധാനിച്ചാൽ മനുഷ്യൻ ഇവിടെ ധർമ്മാർഥകാമമോക്ഷഫലങ്ങൾ പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• पाराशर्यः: Pārāśarya (Vyāsa)
• पाराशर्यः: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाराशर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन; ऋषिनाम

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Speech act/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• शृणु: listen
• शृणु: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative); मध्यमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• सूत: O Sūta
• सूत: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative); एकवचन

• महाभाग: O greatly fortunate one
• महाभाग: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (पूर्वपद) + भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (‘महान् भागः यस्य’)

• कथाम्: a story
• कथाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन

• श्रुतिसहोदराम्: akin to Śruti (Vedic in authority)
• श्रुतिसहोदराम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रुति (प्रातिपदिक) + सहोदर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘श्रुतेः सहोदरा’ = ‘sister of the Veda/Śruti’); विशेषणं कथाम्

• याम्: which
• याम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-प्रत्यय (relative pronoun)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चय/उपपद (emphatic particle)

• हृदि: in the heart
• हृदि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हृद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (Locative); एकवचन

• निधाय: having placed
• निधाय: Kriya (पूर्वकालिक क्रिया/पूर्वकर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + धा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); नि-उपसर्गपूर्वक धा-धातोः; ‘having placed’

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (adverb ‘here/in this world’)

• पुरुषः: a man
• पुरुषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन

• पुरुषार्थभाक्: partaker of the aims of life
• पुरुषार्थभाक्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुरुषार्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + भज् (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन; ‘भाक्’ = भज्-धातोः क्विप्-प्रत्ययान्त (agent noun) ‘partaker’; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘पुरुषार्थस्य भाक्’); विशेषणं पुरुषः

Speaker

Pārāśarya (Vyāsa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sūta

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vyāsa’s son/lineage speaker (Pārāśarya) addresses Sūta in a sage-assembly, urging attentive listening to a Veda-like sacred narrative that grants puruṣārthas.

Characters & Entities

• Pārāśarya (Vyāsa)
• Sūta
• Śruti (Veda)
• Puruṣārthas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Veda-aligned purāṇic teachings, when internalized, guide a person toward the complete aims of life, culminating in liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The chapter belongs to the Kāśīkhaṇḍa framework, where teachings are oriented toward Kāśī’s sacred ethos, though this opening verse itself names no single tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No external rite is prescribed; the instruction is śravaṇa (listening) and hṛdaya-nidhāna (treasuring the teaching in the heart).