Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

चेष्टितं तस्य को वेद वेदवेद्यस्य चेशितुः । मनागिति च जानेहं तच्चेष्टितमिदं जगत्

Transliteration

ceṣṭitaṃ tasya ko veda vedavedyasya ceśituḥ | manāgiti ca jānehaṃ tacceṣṭitamidaṃ jagat

Translation

വേദങ്ങളാൽ ജ്ഞേയനായ ആ നിയന്താവായ പ്രഭുവിന്റെ പ്രവർത്തനം ആര് അറിയും? ഞാൻ അറിയുന്നത് ഇത്രമാത്രം—ഈ സമസ്ത ലോകവും അവന്റെ ക്രിയാ-ലീല തന്നെയാണ്.

Word by Word

• ceṣṭitam: activity, conduct
• ceṣṭitam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ceṣṭita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचन

• tasya: of him/that
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे/नपुंसके षष्ठी एकवचन (genitive)

• kaḥ: who
• kaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचन (interrogative)

• veda: knows
• veda: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vid (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदी; प्रथमपुरुष एकवचन

• veda-vedyasya: of the one knowable by the Vedas
• veda-vedyasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक) + vedya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (वेदैः वेद्यः); पुल्लिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचन (ईशितुः इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• īśituḥ: of the ruler/lord
• īśituḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचन

• manāk: a little, slightly
• manāk: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: manāk (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्तिसूचक अव्यय (quotative)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• jāne: I know
• jāne: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jñā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपदी; उत्तमपुरुष एकवचन

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा एकवचन (pronoun)

• tat-ceṣṭitam: that activity
• tat-ceṣṭitam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + ceṣṭita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (इदं जगत् इति विशेष्येण सह प्रथमा)

• idam: this
• idam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचन (जगत् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• jagat: world, universe
• jagat: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (contextual attribution)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage-speaker gestures toward the vast cosmos—sun, moon, rivers, beings—declaring it all as the Lord’s ceṣṭita; the Lord remains veiled yet present.

Characters & Entities

• Veda
• Īśa/Īśitu (the Lord—Śiva in Kāśī context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine governance is ultimately beyond full human grasp; recognizing the world as the Lord’s working cultivates humility and devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Implicitly Kāśī, where the Lord who is ‘Veda-vedya’ is especially celebrated as Viśveśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; it conveys a theological view of the Lord’s incomprehensible workings.