Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

दृशि धातुरभूद्य मदृशो प्राप्य सान्वयः । स्पष्टं दृष्टिपथं प्राप्ता यदेषाऽनंदवाटिका

Transliteration

dṛśi dhāturabhūdya madṛśo prāpya sānvayaḥ | spaṣṭaṃ dṛṣṭipathaṃ prāptā yadeṣā'naṃdavāṭikā

Translation

ധാതാവ് (സ്രഷ്ടാവ്)യുടെ ദൃഷ്ടി യഥാവിധി സ്ഥിരമായ ഉടനെ, ഈ ആനന്ദവാടിക വ്യക്തമായി അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ ദൃഷ്ടിപഥത്തിൽ പ്രത്യക്ഷപ്പെട്ടു.

Word by Word

• dṛśi: in (his) sight/vision
• dṛśi: Adhikarana (Locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dṛś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; ‘दृशि’ = ‘दृष्टौ/दर्शने’ (in vision/at sight)

• dhātuḥ: the element/constituent (here: the verbal root/essence)
• dhātuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhātu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• abhūt: became/was
• abhūt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू धातु) उपसर्ग: अभि-
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/Imperfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• ya: which/that
• ya: Connector (Relation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
• Form: सम्बन्ध-प्रत्ययार्थक-अव्यय (relative particle; here linking clause)

• madṛśaḥ: like me
• madṛśaḥ: Predicate (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: madṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; ‘मदृशः’ = ‘मम सदृशः’ (like me)

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

• sa-anvayaḥ: with proper connection/with lineage
• sa-anvayaḥ: Predicate (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (प्रातिपदिक) + anvaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (सः अन्वयः यस्य / सान्वयः = ‘with connection/with lineage/with proper relation’)

• spaṣṭam: clearly
• spaṣṭam: Modifier (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: spaṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverbial accusative)

• dṛṣṭi-patham: the range/path of sight
• dṛṣṭi-patham: Karma (Object/goal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + patha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (दृष्टेः पथः)

• prāptā: has come/has reached
• prāptā: Kriya/Predicate (Descriptive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (आप् धातु) उपसर्ग: प्र- + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; एषा (वाटिका) इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• yad: that/which
• yad: Connector (Relation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
• Form: सम्बन्ध-प्रत्ययार्थक-अव्यय (relative particle; ‘that/which’)

• eṣā: this
• eṣā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• ānanda-vāṭikā: the garden of bliss (Ānandavāṭikā)
• ānanda-vāṭikā: Karta (Apposition/subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ānanda (प्रातिपदिक) + vāṭikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (आनन्दस्य वाटिका)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandavāṭikā

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā’s gaze steadies; a luminous grove—Ānandavāṭikā—appears clearly, filled with flowering trees, gentle light, and a palpable aura of bliss within Kāśī.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā (Dhātṛ)
• Ānandavāṭikā
• Kāśī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred Kāśī reveals itself as a realm of bliss to purified, steady vision—darśana arises when the mind and senses become aligned.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ānandavāṭikā, a blissful sacred grove within the Kāśī sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse implies inner steadiness (focused perception) as a prerequisite for sacred darśana.