Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

ततो द्रक्ष्यसि पाताले नगरीं चंपकावतीम् । महामनोहरा राजन्सहितां बालयानया

Transliteration

tato drakṣyasi pātāle nagarīṃ caṃpakāvatīm | mahāmanoharā rājansahitāṃ bālayānayā

Translation

അതിനുശേഷം, ഹേ രാജാവേ, നീ പാതാളത്തിൽ ‘ചമ്പകാവതി’ എന്ന അതിമനോഹര നഗരിയെ ദർശിക്കും; ഈ കന്യയും നിന്നോടൊപ്പം നിന്നെ അവിടെ എത്തിക്കും.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Kāla/Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Temporal adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb ‘then/thereafter’

• drakṣyasi: you will see
• drakṣyasi: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्काल/Future), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (singular)

• pātāle: in Pātāla (netherworld)
• pātāle: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pātāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• nagarīm: a city
• nagarīm: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nagarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• caṃpakāvatīm: named Campakāvatī
• caṃpakāvatīm: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: caṃpakāvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (adjective) नगरीम् इति विशेष्यस्य

• mahāmanoharām: very beautiful
• mahāmanoharām: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + manoharā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (adjective) नगरीम् इति विशेष्यस्य

• rājan: O king
• rājan: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• sahitām: accompanied (with)
• sahitām: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sahita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् नगरीम् इति; ‘सहित’ = accompanied/with

• bālayā: by/with the girl
• bālayā: Sahakāraka/Instrument (Accompaniment)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bālā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• anayā: by/with this (one)
• anayā: Sahakāraka/Instrument (Apposition to bālayā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśī Khaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Campakāvatī (mythic)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (rājan) addressed; also ‘devi’ addressed in adjacent narration

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king at the threshold of the underworld beholds a radiant subterranean city, led by a youthful Vidyādharī maiden; the entrance suggests a hidden passage beneath waters/earth, with champaka trees and jeweled architecture implied by the name Campakāvatī.

Characters & Entities

• Pātāla
• Campakāvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine guidance can lead a seeker beyond ordinary realms, revealing hidden worlds and karmic outcomes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific Kāśī tīrtha is named in this verse; it introduces Campakāvatī in Pātāla within the wider Kāśī Khaṇḍa narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is primarily narrative and directional.