Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 85

Devanagari script

साम्नो योनिं लये हेतुं साक्षाद्रुद्रस्वरूपिणम् । अथ तत्पुरतो ध्याता व्यधात्स्वनयनातिथिम्

Transliteration

sāmno yoniṃ laye hetuṃ sākṣādrudrasvarūpiṇam | atha tatpurato dhyātā vyadhātsvanayanātithim

Translation

അവൻ അതിനെ സാമവേദത്തിലെ സാമന്റെ യോനി, ലയത്തിന്റെ കാരണം, സാക്ഷാൽ രുദ്രസ്വരൂപം എന്നു ദർശിച്ചു. പിന്നെ ധ്യാതാവ് അതിനെ തന്റെ കണ്ണുകൾക്കുള്ള അതിഥിയായി മുന്നിൽ സ്ഥാപിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• साम्नः: of the sāman (Vedic chant)
• साम्नः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन — “of sāman/chant”

• योनिम्: source, womb, origin
• योनिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• लये: in dissolution (laya)
• लये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन — “in dissolution/absorption”

• हेतुम्: cause
• हेतुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हेतु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• साक्षात्: directly, manifestly
• साक्षात्: Visheshana (Adverbial qualifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: साक्षात् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) “directly/manifestly”

• रुद्र-स्वरूपिणम्: having the form of Rudra
• रुद्र-स्वरूपिणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + स्वरूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष “रुद्रस्य स्वरूपः यस्य” (having Rudra as form)

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — अव्ययपद (discourse particle) “then/thereupon”

• तत्-पुरतः: in front of that
• तत्-पुरतः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + पुरतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्यय — स्थानवाचक (locative adverb) “in front of that/there”

• ध्याता: the meditator
• ध्याता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्यातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — “the meditator”

• व्यधात्: he arranged/created
• व्यधात्: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: धा (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; उपसर्ग ‘वि-’ — “he placed/arranged/created”

• स्व-नयन-अतिथिम्: a guest to his eyes (a sight to behold)
• स्व-नयन-अतिथिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + नयन (प्रातिपदिक) + अतिथि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध) “स्वस्य नयनस्य अतिथिः” — ‘guest of (his) eyes’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (frame; not explicit in verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tapasvin-meditator beholds a luminous Rudra-principle, felt as the womb of Sāman and the cause of dissolution; he ‘places’ the vision before his eyes like an honored guest.

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Sāmaveda (Sāman)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dissolution (laya) is not mere negation but a divine function identified with Rudra and sacred sound (Sāman).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the overarching locus where such Rudra-centered sound-metaphysics is taught in the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the emphasis is on contemplative ‘darśana’—placing the principle before one’s vision.