Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

शंकुकर्णमहाकालौ कालस्यापि प्रकंपनौ । ज्ञातुं वाराणसीवार्तामायातं चत्वरान्वितौ

Transliteration

śaṃkukarṇamahākālau kālasyāpi prakaṃpanau | jñātuṃ vārāṇasīvārtāmāyātaṃ catvarānvitau

Translation

കാലത്തെയും വിറപ്പിക്കുന്ന ശങ്കുകർണ്ണനും മഹാകാലനും, വാരാണസിയുടെ യഥാർത്ഥ വാർത്ത അറിയുവാൻ ആഗ്രഹിച്ചു, ചത്വരങ്ങളാൽ അലങ്കൃതമായ ആ നഗരിയിലേക്കു ഒരുമിച്ചു വന്നു।

Word by Word

• शंकुकर्णमहाकालौ: Śaṅkukarṇa and Mahākāla
• शंकुकर्णमहाकालौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंकुकर्ण + महाकाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• कालस्य: of Time (Death)
• कालस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चय/अपि-अर्थे “even/also”

• प्रकंपनौ: (who are) tremblers/shakers
• प्रकंपनौ: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रकंपन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• ज्ञातुम्: to know
• ज्ञातुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), “to know”

• वाराणसीवार्ताम्: the news/account of Vārāṇasī
• वाराणसीवार्ताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाराणसी + वार्ता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• आयातम्: having come
• आयातम्: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + या (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; (अत्र) “having come/arrived” (adverbial to main sense)

• चत्वरान्वितौ: accompanied by crossroads/squares
• चत्वरान्वितौ: Visheshana (Adjective of subject/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चत्वर + अन्वित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual); “चत्वरैः अन्वितौ” (endowed with squares/crossroads)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration, commonly Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the ṛṣis of Naimiṣāraṇya (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two formidable Śaiva guardians/attendants—Śaṅkukarṇa and Mahākāla—arrive at Kāśī’s fourfold crossroads, the city shimmering with otherworldly radiance; time itself seems to recoil.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkukarṇa
• Mahākāla
• Kāla (Time)
• Vārāṇasī
• Catvara (crossroads)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the mightiest beings approach Kāśī with reverence, because its spiritual reality surpasses ordinary measures of power and time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī/Kāśī, presented as a uniquely sanctified city marked by famed catvaras (sacred crossroads/squares).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse frames pilgrimage-motivation—coming to know and witness Kāśī’s greatness.