Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 68

Devanagari script

विवेशांतःसमुद्रं च नगरीमाससाद ताम् । साथ विद्याधरी बाला नेत्रप्राघुणकी कृता

Transliteration

viveśāṃtaḥsamudraṃ ca nagarīmāsasāda tām | sātha vidyādharī bālā netraprāghuṇakī kṛtā

Translation

അവൻ സമുദ്രത്തിന്റെ അന്തർഭാഗത്തിലേക്ക് പ്രവേശിച്ച് ആ നഗരിയെ പ്രാപിച്ചു. അവിടെ ആ വിദ്യാധരീ കന്യ കണ്ണുകൾക്കൊരു വിരുന്നുപോലെ, നേത്രോത്സവമായി തോന്നി.

Word by Word

• viveśa: entered
• viveśa: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi + viś (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• antaḥ-samudram: into the sea’s interior
• antaḥ-samudram: Karma (Goal/Object of motion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antaḥ (अव्यय) + samudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; अर्थः ‘समुद्रस्य अन्तः/अन्तर्गतं’ = into the interior of the sea

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (and)

• nagarīm: the city
• nagarīm: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nagarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• āsasāda: reached, came to
• āsasāda: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + sad (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• tām: that (city)
• tām: Karma (Object apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम; नगरीम् इति अन्वयः

• sā: she
• sā: Kartā (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• atha: then
• atha: Kāla/Discourse marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तर/then)

• vidyādharī: the Vidyādharī (celestial maiden)
• vidyādharī: Kartā (Apposition to sā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidyādhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘vidyādhara’ जातिवाचक-स्त्री

• bālā: the girl
• bālā: Kartā (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bālā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• netra-prāghuṇakī: a delight for the eyes
• netra-prāghuṇakī: Kartā (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: netra + prāghuṇakī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (netrāṇāṃ prāghuṇakī) = ‘(one who is) a treat/guest for the eyes’

• kṛtā: became/was made
• kṛtā: Kriyā (Predicate, with implied ‘abhavat’)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘made/became’ (predicative)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśī Khaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Antaḥ-samudra (inner sea; narrative tīrtha)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience within Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king passes beneath the sea into a luminous subterranean city; the Vidyādharī maiden stands radiant, her beauty described as ‘a feast for the eyes,’ with jeweled ornaments and celestial poise.

Characters & Entities

• Inner sea (Antaḥsamudra)
• Campakāvatī (implied city)
• Vidyādharī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇas portray subtle realms to illustrate that reality is broader than the visible world, and that beauty can signal divine or karmic significance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse speaks of an inner-ocean city (Campakāvatī implied), not a named Kāśī tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.