Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

हृषीकेशे हृषीकाणि यस्य स्थैर्यं गतान्यहो । स एव स्थैर्यमाप्नोति ब्रह्मांडेऽतीव चंचले

Transliteration

hṛṣīkeśe hṛṣīkāṇi yasya sthairyaṃ gatānyaho | sa eva sthairyamāpnoti brahmāṃḍe'tīva caṃcale

Translation

അഹോ! ആരുടെ ഇന്ദ്രിയങ്ങൾ ഹൃഷീകേശനിൽ മാത്രം സ്ഥിരമാകുന്നുവോ, അവൻ ഈ അത്യന്തം ചഞ്ചലമായ ബ്രഹ്മാണ്ഡത്തിനുള്ളിലും യഥാർത്ഥ സ്ഥിരത പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• हृषीकेशे: in/with Hrishikesha (Vishnu)
• हृषीकेशे: Adhikarana (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हृषीकेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समास: हृषीकाणां ईशः (lord of senses)

• हृषीकाणि: the senses
• हृषीकाणि: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हृषीक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• यस्य: whose
• यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम

• स्थैर्यम्: steadiness
• स्थैर्यम्: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थैर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• गतानि: have gone/entered
• गतानि: Kriya (Predicate complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; धातु: गम् (to go)

• अहो: ah!/indeed
• अहो: Sambandha (Interjection)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अहो (अव्यय)
• Form: विस्मयादिबोधक निपात (exclamation)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphasis)

• स्थैर्यम्: steadiness
• स्थैर्यम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थैर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• आप्नोति: attains
• आप्नोति: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; धातु: आप् (to obtain)

• ब्रह्माण्डे: in the universe
• ब्रह्माण्डे: Adhikarana (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्म-अण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समास: ब्रह्मणः अण्डम् (cosmic egg/universe)

• अतीव: very/exceedingly
• अतीव: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अतीव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (intensifying adverb)

• चञ्चले: unstable/restless
• चञ्चले: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चञ्चल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (ब्रह्माण्डे)

Speaker

Nārada (continuing speech)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Cosmic whirl of moving beings and elements contrasted with a serene devotee whose senses are depicted as reins held by Hṛṣīkeśa; the devotee sits steady at a Kāśī ghāṭa.

Characters & Entities

• Hṛṣīkeśa (Viṣṇu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When the senses are anchored in the Lord, the mind gains steadiness even amid worldly instability.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; ‘Hṛṣīkeśa’ is a divine epithet here, not a geographic reference in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It implies the discipline of sense-restraint and devotion (placing the senses in the Lord), not a formal rite.