Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

तेन दैलीपिना सार्धमस्मिन्नानंदकानने । क्षेत्रप्रभावमतुलं ज्ञात्वा शंभुपरिग्रहात्

Transliteration

tena dailīpinā sārdhamasminnānaṃdakānane | kṣetraprabhāvamatulaṃ jñātvā śaṃbhuparigrahāt

Translation

ആ ദൈലീപിനോടൊപ്പം ഈ ആനന്ദകാനനത്തിൽ, ശംഭു (ശിവൻ) പരിഗ്രഹിച്ചതിനാൽ ക്ഷേത്രത്തിന്റെ അതുല പ്രഭാവം അറിഞ്ഞ്…

Word by Word

• तेन: with him/thereby
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम; करण/सहकार

• दिलीपिना: with Dilīpi (Dilīpa)
• दिलीपिना: Saha (Association/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिलीपि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; सहकारे

• सार्धम्: together with
• सार्धम्: Saha (Association/सह)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सार्धम् (अव्यय)
• Form: सहार्थक-अव्यय (adverb/particle: together with)

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरणे

• आनन्दकानने: in the Ānanda grove
• आनन्दकानने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आनन्द-कानन (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरणे

• क्षेत्रप्रभावम्: the power/glory of the sacred field
• क्षेत्रप्रभावम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र-प्रभाव (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म

• अतुलम्: incomparable
• अतुलम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अतुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of क्षेत्रप्रभावम्)

• ज्ञात्वा: having known
• ज्ञात्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु) + त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वकालिक-क्रिया (having known)

• शम्भुपरिग्रहात्: from Śambhu's acceptance/possession (i.e., because it is held by Śiva)
• शम्भुपरिग्रहात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शम्भु-परिग्रह (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; अपादान (source/cause: from/because of)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandakānana (within Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Muni (unnamed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred forest-grove by the Gaṅgā: sages with matted hair, a companion named Dailīpina, and a luminous sense of Śiva’s invisible presence pervading the grove; subtle liṅga forms in nature (tree-trunks/rocks).

Characters & Entities

• Dailīpina
• Ānandakānana
• Śambhu (Śiva)
• Kāśī-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A place becomes supremely salvific when it is Śiva’s own kṣetra—its power is rooted in divine guardianship, not mere geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ānandakānana within Kāśī, representing the sanctified landscape of the Kāśī-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed; the verse establishes theological basis for later acts like liṅga-pratiṣṭhā and worship.