Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

उर्वशी मेनका रंभा चंद्रलेखा तिलोत्तमा । वपुष्मतीकांतिमती लीलावत्युत्पलावती

Transliteration

urvaśī menakā raṃbhā caṃdralekhā tilottamā | vapuṣmatīkāṃtimatī līlāvatyutpalāvatī

Translation

ഉർവശീ, മേനകാ, രംഭാ, ചന്ദ്രലേഖാ, തിലോത്തമാ; കൂടാതെ വപുഷ്മതീ, കാന്തിമതീ, ലീലാവതീ, ഉത്പലാവതീ—ഇവരാണ് അപ്സരസ്സുകൾ।

Word by Word

• urvaśī: Urvaśī
• urvaśī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: urvaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नाम

• menakā: Menakā
• menakā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: menakā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नाम

• raṃbhā: Rambhā
• raṃbhā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raṃbhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नाम

• caṃdralekhā: Candra-lekhā
• caṃdralekhā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caṃdra (प्रातिपदिक) + lekhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः): ‘चन्द्रस्य लेखा’

• tilottamā: Tilottamā
• tilottamā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tila (प्रातिपदिक) + uttamā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः/रूढिनाम (traditional name)

• vapuṣmatī: Vapuṣmatī
• vapuṣmatī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vapuṣmatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नाम (विशेषणप्रायः)

• kāṃtimatī: Kāntimatī
• kāṃtimatī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāṃtimatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नाम

• līlāvatī: Līlāvatī
• līlāvatī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: līlāvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नाम

• utpalāvatī: Utpalāvatī
• utpalāvatī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: utpala (प्रातिपदिक) + vatī (प्रत्यय)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नाम; ‘-वतī’ प्रत्ययः (possessive)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A procession-like tableau of famed apsarās, each distinguished by attire, posture, and emblematic ornament—Urvaśī foremost—presented as a luminous catalogue.

Characters & Entities

• Urvaśī
• Menakā
• Rambhā
• Candralekhā
• Tilottamā
• Vapuṣmatī
• Kāntimatī
• Līlāvatī
• Utpalāvatī
• Apsarāḥ

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Name-lists in Purāṇas function as remembrance of cosmic orders; here it situates the listener within the celestial hierarchy and the workings of desire and beauty.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None explicitly in this verse; it is a catalogue within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a naming passage.