Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

सितहंसरथस्तूर्णं प्राप्य वाराणसीं पुरीम् । कृतकृत्यमिवात्मानममन्यत तदात्मभूः

Transliteration

sitahaṃsarathastūrṇaṃ prāpya vārāṇasīṃ purīm | kṛtakṛtyamivātmānamamanyata tadātmabhūḥ

Translation

ശ്വേതഹംസരഥത്തിൽ വേഗത്തിൽ സഞ്ചരിച്ചു ആത്മഭൂ (ബ്രഹ്മാവ്) വാരാണസി നഗരത്തിലെത്തി; അപ്പോൾ താൻ കൃതകൃത്യനായതുപോലെ ഉള്ളിൽ തോന്നി.

Word by Word

• sita-haṃsa-rathaḥ: (he) whose chariot is of white swans / the swan-chariot
• sita-haṃsa-rathaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sita (प्रातिपदिक) + haṃsa (प्रातिपदिक) + ratha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (सितानां हंसानां रथः / हंस-रथः)

• tūrṇam: quickly
• tūrṇam: Modifier (Adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tūrṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• prāpya: having reached
• prāpya: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (आप् धातु) उपसर्ग: प्र-; ल्यप् (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त (gerund), ‘having reached’

• vārāṇasīm: Vārāṇasī
• vārāṇasīm: Karma (Goal/गन्तव्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārāṇasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• purīm: the city
• purīm: Karma (Apposition to goal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; वārāṇasīm इत्यस्य विशेषण/अप्पोजिशन

• kṛta-kṛtyam: one who has accomplished what was to be done
• kṛta-kṛtyam: Karma (Object complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛta (कृदन्त; √kṛ + क्त) + kṛtya (प्रातिपदिक; ‘to be done’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (कृतं कृत्यं यस्य)

• iva: as if/like
• iva: Modifier (Simile)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमार्थक-अव्यय (comparative particle)

• ātmānam: himself
• ātmānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; आत्म-शब्दः (reflexive sense)

• amanyata: thought/considered
• amanyata: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √man (मन् धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/Imperfect), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• tadā: then
• tadā: Modifier (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• ātma-bhūḥ: the Self-born (Brahmā)
• ātma-bhūḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक) + bhū (प्रातिपदिक; ‘born/produced’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (आत्मनः भूः = स्वयम्भूः)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-purī (Vārāṇasī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā, seated in a white-swan chariot, arrives swiftly at Kāśī; the city appears radiant, with ghāṭas and temples; Brahmā’s face shows serene fulfillment.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā (Ātmabhū)
• Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is so spiritually complete that even Brahmā feels ‘kṛtakṛtya’—as if all aims are fulfilled—upon reaching it.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The city of Vārāṇasī/Kāśī itself, exalted as the culmination of sacred travel.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None stated; the verse highlights the immediate spiritual fruition (phala) of arrival.