Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 90

Devanagari script

इति दत्त्वा वरं तस्मै स्मरारिः स्मेरलोचनः । ददर्श ब्राह्मणां स्तत्र समेतान्क्षेत्रवासिनः

Transliteration

iti dattvā varaṃ tasmai smarāriḥ smeralocanaḥ | dadarśa brāhmaṇāṃ statra sametānkṣetravāsinaḥ

Translation

ഇങ്ങനെ അവനു വരം നല്കി, സ്മരാരി ശിവൻ സ്മിതനയനനായി അവിടെ ഒരുമിച്ചുകൂടിയ കാശിക്ഷേത്രവാസി ബ്രാഹ്മണന്മാരെ ദർശിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (quotative particle) — ‘thus/so’

• दत्त्वा: having given
• दत्त्वा: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया/Adverbial action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), from √दा ‘to give’ — ‘having given’

• वरम्: a boon
• वरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• तस्मै: to him
• तस्मै: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (generic), चतुर्थी (4th/सम्प्रदान), एकवचन

• स्मरारिः: the enemy of Smara (Śiva)
• स्मरारिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्मर + अरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘Smara’s enemy’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• स्मेरलोचनः: smiling-eyed
• स्मेरलोचनः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्मेर + लोचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘smiling-eyed’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण of स्मरारिः

• ददर्श: saw
• ददर्श: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• ब्राह्मणान्: Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन

• स्तत्र: there
• स्तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of place) — ‘there’ (orthographic variant: स्तत्र)

• समेतान्: assembled
• समेतान्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + इ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle) from √सम्-इ ‘to come together’, पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण of ब्राह्मणान्

• क्षेत्रवासिनः: residing in the sacred field (Kāśī)
• क्षेत्रवासिनः: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षेत्र + वासिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘dwelling in the kṣetra’), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण of ब्राह्मणान्

Speaker

Narrator (contextual narration within Skanda’s discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva (Smarāri) with gentle smile and luminous eyes, having granted a boon, turns to behold an assembly of Kāśī brāhmaṇas—kṣetra-vāsins—standing reverently in a sacred precinct.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Smarāri)
• Brāhmaṇas
• Kṣetra (Kāśī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine grace (vara-pradāna) culminates in recognizing and honoring the sanctity of those who live and serve within Kāśī, the holy kṣetra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as the kṣetra—implicitly the entire sacred field revered in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; the verse highlights Śiva’s boon and the presence of kṣetravāsī brāhmaṇas.