Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

परं किंचित्क्वचिन्नैक्षि सिद्ध्यंकुरमपि प्रभो । इदानीं त्वामनुप्राप्य महीं पर्यटता मया

Transliteration

paraṃ kiṃcitkvacinnaikṣi siddhyaṃkuramapi prabho | idānīṃ tvāmanuprāpya mahīṃ paryaṭatā mayā

Translation

പ്രഭോ! എങ്കിലും എവിടെയും എനിക്ക് സിദ്ധിയുടെ മുളപോലും കാണാനായില്ല; എന്നാൽ ഇപ്പോൾ ഭൂമിയെ പര്യടനം ചെയ്ത് നിന്നെ പ്രാപിച്ചതിനാൽ എന്റെ ഹൃദയത്തിൽ ആശ ഉദിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• param: but; however
• param: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोग (adverbial accusative), क्रियाविशेषण

• kiṃcit: anything; something
• kiṃcit: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kiṃcid (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Case 2), एकवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक (indefinite)

• kvacit: anywhere; ever
• kvacit: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kvacit (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देश/कालवाचक (adverb: somewhere/at any time)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निषेध (negation particle)

• aikṣi: (I) saw; perceived
• aikṣi: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √īkṣ (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• siddhi-aṃkuram: even a sprout of attainment
• siddhi-aṃkuram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: siddhi (प्रातिपदिक) + aṃkura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Case 2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास: सिद्धेः अङ्कुरः (sprout of success)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधान (particle: even)

• prabho: O Lord
• prabho: Sambodhana (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (Case 8), एकवचन

• idānīm: now
• idānīm: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: idānīm (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, कालवाचक (adverb: now)

• tvām: you
• tvām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, द्वितीया (Case 2), एकवचन

• anuprāpya: having reached; having met
• anuprāpya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial; prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anu-√prāp (धातु) + lyap (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वकाल (having reached/obtained)

• mahīm: the earth
• mahīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Case 2), एकवचन

• paryaṭatā: while wandering
• paryaṭatā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Participial; concomitant action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√aṭ (धातु) + śatṛ (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Case 3), एकवचन; 'mayā' सह सति-सप्तमीवत्/सहकारक-प्रयोग (while wandering, by me)

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया (Case 3), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified seeker (listener addressing Garga, contextually Damanā)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lone wanderer, dust-covered, staff in hand, arrives at Kāśī’s riverfront; his face shows weary honesty turning into hope as he addresses the Lord.

Characters & Entities

• Garga (implied recipient)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True progress begins when the seeker finds the right teacher and receives living guidance, not merely through wandering or effort alone.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Implicitly Kāśī/Avimukta in the chapter’s setting, though not named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse expresses the seeker’s realization and approach to the teacher.