Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 95

Devanagari script

आहूय तं नरवरं वरं सर्वांगसुंदरम् । विष्णुभक्तिकृतत्राणं प्राणनाथेति जल्प्य च

Transliteration

āhūya taṃ naravaraṃ varaṃ sarvāṃgasuṃdaram | viṣṇubhaktikṛtatrāṇaṃ prāṇanātheti jalpya ca

Translation

വിഷ്ണുഭക്തിയാൽ രക്ഷിക്കപ്പെട്ട, സർവാംഗസുന്ദരനായ ആ ശ്രേഷ്ഠ നരവരനെ വിളിച്ചു അവൾ പറഞ്ഞു—“പ്രാണനാഥാ!”

Word by Word

• आहूय: having called
• आहूय: Pūrvakāla-kriyā
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आ+ह्वे (धातु) → आहूय (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund)

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karman
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• नरवरम्: the best of men
• नरवरम्: Karman (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर+वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (श्रेष्ठः नरः)

• वरम्: excellent
• वरम्: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of नरवरम्)

• सर्वाङ्गसुन्दरम्: beautiful in every limb
• सर्वाङ्गसुन्दरम्: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व+अङ्ग+सुन्दर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः सर्वेषाम् अङ्गानां सुन्दरः (beautiful in all limbs)

• विष्णुभक्तिकृतत्राणम्: protected by devotion to Viṣṇu
• विष्णुभक्तिकृतत्राणम्: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विष्णु+भक्ति+कृत+त्राण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः विष्णुभक्त्या कृतं त्राणं यस्य (protected due to devotion to Viṣṇu)

• प्राणनाथ: O lord of my life
• प्राणनाथ: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण+नाथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः प्राणानां नाथः (lord of my life)

• इति: thus
• इति: Vākyārtha-sūcaka
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इत्यर्थक

• जल्प्य: having spoken
• जल्प्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: जल्प् (धातु) → जल्प्य (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context; exact speaker not shown in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The maiden calls and summons the best of men—handsome and noble—explicitly marked as one protected by devotion to Viṣṇu; she addresses him as ‘Lord of my life’.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Nara-vara
• Vidyādhara maiden (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Bhakti (devotion)—here explicitly to Viṣṇu—is affirmed as a real source of protection, even within a Kāśī-centered Purāṇic setting.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named in this verse; it remains within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative horizon of Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal ritual is prescribed; the verse highlights viṣṇu-bhakti (devotion to Viṣṇu) as the effective means of rescue.