Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 90

Devanagari script

शिवभक्तः स्वयं यत्र पौलस्त्यः स्वद्रिकूटतः । कोटिहाटककूटानि आनयामास राक्षसैः

Transliteration

śivabhaktaḥ svayaṃ yatra paulastyaḥ svadrikūṭataḥ | koṭihāṭakakūṭāni ānayāmāsa rākṣasaiḥ

Translation

അവിടെ ശിവഭക്തനായ പൗലസ്ത്യൻ സ്വയം തന്റെ പർവ്വതശിഖരത്തിൽ നിന്ന് രാക്ഷസന്മാരെക്കൊണ്ട് കോടിക്കണക്കിന് സ്വർണ്ണകൂമ്പാരങ്ങൾ കൊണ്ടുവരിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• śiva: of Śiva
• śiva: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी, एकवचन; समासपूर्वपद-रूपेण

• bhaktaḥ: devotee
• bhaktaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakta (प्रातिपदिक; √bhaj + kta)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (devotee)

• svayam: himself
• svayam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय)
• Form: स्वार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic: oneself)

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (where)

• paulastyaḥ: Paulastya (Rāvaṇa)
• paulastyaḥ: Karta (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paulastya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; व्यक्तिनाम (name: descendant of Pulastya, i.e., Rāvaṇa)

• sva: own
• sva: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• dri: mountain
• dri: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: dri (प्रातिपदिक; अद्रि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी, एकवचन; समासपूर्वपद-रूपेण

• kūṭataḥ: from the peak
• kūṭataḥ: Apādāna
• Type: Noun
• Root: kūṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; अपादानम् (from the peak)

• koṭi: crore (ten million)
• koṭi: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: koṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, समासपूर्वपद-रूपेण (numerical: crore)

• hāṭaka: gold
• hāṭaka: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: hāṭaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, समासपूर्वपद-रूपेण; सुवर्ण-वाचक (gold)

• kūṭāni: masses/heaps
• kūṭāni: Karman (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kūṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; कर्म

• ānayāmāsa: brought
• ānayāmāsa: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√nī (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; causative-like intensive perfect usage (brought)

• rākṣasaiḥ: by the rākṣasas
• rākṣasaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/Agent-associate)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rākṣasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया, बहुवचन; करणम्/सहकारि (by/with the demons)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Paulastya, portrayed as a fervent Śiva-bhakta, commands Rākṣasas to bring colossal heaps of gold from his own mountain summit; the gold is stacked in Kāśī as part of the divine adornment.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Avimukta)
• Śiva
• Paulastya
• Rākṣasas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even mighty beings associated with power and conquest are shown subordinated to devotion—Śiva-bhakti redirects wealth toward sacred purpose in Kāśī.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Avimukta-Kāśī, where extraordinary offerings are gathered to magnify the kṣetra’s divine splendor.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed; the verse highlights devotional offering (wealth used in service of the sacred).