Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

स्कंद उवाच । आनंदबाष्पसलिलरुद्धकंठं विलोक्य तम् । मृडः पस्पर्श पाणिभ्यां सौधाभ्यां तु सुधांबुधिः

Transliteration

skaṃda uvāca | ānaṃdabāṣpasalilaruddhakaṃṭhaṃ vilokya tam | mṛḍaḥ pasparśa pāṇibhyāṃ saudhābhyāṃ tu sudhāṃbudhiḥ

Translation

സ്കന്ദൻ പറഞ്ഞു: ആനന്ദാശ്രുക്കളാൽ തൊണ്ടയിടറിയ അദ്ദേഹത്തെ (ധർമ്മരാജാവിനെ) കണ്ട്, അമൃതസാഗരനായ ശിവൻ തന്റെ കുളിർമയുള്ള കൈകളാൽ അദ്ദേഹത്തെ സ്പർശിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• skaṃdaḥ: Skanda
• skaṃdaḥ: Karta (Speaker/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: skanda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect); प्रथम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ānanda-bāṣpa-salila-ruddha-kaṇṭham: with throat choked by joyful tears
• ānanda-bāṣpa-salila-ruddha-kaṇṭham: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of tam)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ānanda (प्रातिपदिक) + bāṣpa (प्रातिपदिक) + salila (प्रातिपदिक) + ruddha (कृदन्त; √rudh) + kaṇṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष समास; पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन; विशेषणम् (whose throat is choked by tears of joy)

• vilokya: having seen
• vilokya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√lok (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभाव (gerund)

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• mṛḍaḥ: Mṛḍa (Śiva)
• mṛḍaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• pasparśa: touched
• pasparśa: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √spṛś (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect); प्रथम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• pāṇibhyām: with (his) two hands
• pāṇibhyām: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāṇi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति; द्विवचन (instrumental dual)

• saudhābhyām: nectar-like / pure
• saudhābhyām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of pāṇibhyām)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saudha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति; द्विवचन; विशेषणम् (nectar-like/pure; lit. ‘made of nectar/whitewash’)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Samuccaya/Avadhāraṇa (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोध/अन्वय (particle: but/indeed)

• sudhā-ambudhiḥ: ocean of nectar (epithet)
• sudhā-ambudhiḥ: Apposition (Epithet of mṛḍaḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sudhā (प्रातिपदिक) + ambudhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष समास; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmeśa (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Purāṇic audience (traditional: sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Skanda narrates: Rudra, gentle and nectar-like, places both cool hands upon the tear-choked Dharmarāja, soothing him back into composure.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Śiva (Mṛḍa/Rudra)
• Dharmarāja (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva’s compassion is not only verbal; it is intimate and healing—divine grace restores the devotee’s strength.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the implied sacred theatre where such direct, mercy-filled encounters with Śiva are celebrated.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse highlights consoling divine touch as a motif of anugraha (grace).