Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

तदेव तत्र नो दृष्टं भवद्वंद्वं भवापहम् । प्रायो विषादजनकं भवतोर्यददर्शनम्

Transliteration

tadeva tatra no dṛṣṭaṃ bhavadvaṃdvaṃ bhavāpaham | prāyo viṣādajanakaṃ bhavatoryadadarśanam

Translation

അവിടെ ഞങ്ങൾ നിങ്ങളുടെ ആ പവിത്ര യുഗളത്തെ—ഭവബന്ധനനാശകരത്തെ—കണ്ടില്ല; അധികവും നിങ്ങളുടെ ഇരുവരുടെയും ദർശനാഭാവം തന്നെയാണ് ഈ വിഷാദത്തിന് കാരണം।

Word by Word

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; निर्देश (that)

• एव: indeed; only
• एव: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देश-अव्यय (locative adverb: there)

• नः: of us; our
• नः: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive: of us/our)

• दृष्टम्: seen
• दृष्टम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दृश् (धातु) + दृष्ट (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि (seen)

• भवत्-द्वन्द्वम्: your pair (you two)
• भवत्-द्वन्द्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + द्वन्द्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (your pair/duality)

• भव-अपहम्: removing worldly existence
• भव-अपहम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भव (प्रातिपदिक) + अपह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष (remover of saṃsāra) विशेषण (of भवत्-द्वन्द्वम्)

• प्रायः: generally; mostly
• प्रायः: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रायः (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रायशः-अव्यय (adverb: generally/mostly)

• विषाद-जनकम्: sorrow-causing
• विषाद-जनकम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विषाद (प्रातिपदिक) + जनक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (producer of sorrow)

• भवतोः: of you two
• भवतोः: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), द्विवचन; सम्बन्ध (of you two)

• यत्: that which
• यत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative)

• अदर्शनम्: non-seeing; not being seen; absence of sight
• अदर्शनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Dadhīci (addressing Satī; referring to Śiva–Satī as the ‘pair’)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims or sages stand in Kāśī lamenting that they did not behold the divine pair who dispel saṃsāra; the city’s shrines and riverfront frame their yearning.

Characters & Entities

• Satī (Dākṣāyaṇī)
• Śiva
• Dadhīci

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine darśana is portrayed as liberating (bhavāpaha), while separation from it becomes the seed of sorrow—highlighting devotion as a remedy for saṃsāra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single site is named in the verse; the broader Kāśīkhaṇḍa setting celebrates Kāśī as the place where Śiva’s presence and darśana are supremely accessible.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the emphasis is on darśana (sacred seeing) and its spiritual effect.