Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

अगस्त्य उवाच । नर्मदेशस्य माहात्म्यं श्रुतं कल्मषनाशनम् । इदानीं कथय स्कंद सतीश्वर समुद्भवम्

Transliteration

agastya uvāca | narmadeśasya māhātmyaṃ śrutaṃ kalmaṣanāśanam | idānīṃ kathaya skaṃda satīśvara samudbhavam

Translation

അഗസ്ത്യൻ പറഞ്ഞു: മലിനത നശിപ്പിക്കുന്ന നർമ്മദേശത്തിന്റെ മഹാത്മ്യം ഞാൻ ശ്രവിച്ചു. ഇനി, ഹേ സ്കന്ദാ, സതീശ്വരന്റെ ഉദ്ഭവം വിവരിക്കണമേ.

Word by Word

• अगस्त्यः: Agastya
• अगस्त्यः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अगस्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• नर्मदेशस्य: of the Narmadā region
• नर्मदेशस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदेश (प्रातिपदिक; नर्मदा + देश)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• माहात्म्यम्: the greatness
• माहात्म्यम्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject: ‘has been heard’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• श्रुतम्: heard
• श्रुतम्: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रुत (कृदन्त; √श्रु (धातु), क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; ‘heard’

• कल्मषनाशनम्: destroyer of impurity/sin
• कल्मषनाशनम्: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कल्मष + नाशन (प्रातिपदिक; √नश् (धातु) + ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘कल्मषस्य नाशनम्’ षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; माहात्म्य-विशेषण

• इदानीम्: now
• इदानीम्: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इदानीम् (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

• कथय: tell, narrate
• कथय: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कथ् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• स्कन्द: O Skanda
• स्कन्द: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्कन्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• सतीश्वर: O Lord of Satī (Śiva)
• सतीश्वर: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सतीश्वर (प्रातिपदिक; सती + ईश्वर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘सत्याः/सत्याः सती-नाम्न्याः ईश्वरः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सम्बोधन)

• समुद्भवम्: origin, arising
• समुद्भवम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक; सम् + उद् + √भू (धातु) + घञ्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कथय-क्रियायाः कर्म

Speaker

Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Satīśvara

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Skanda

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Agastya, venerable sage, addresses Skanda with folded hands, requesting the origin story of Satīśvara after hearing Narmadeśa’s purifying greatness; Skanda poised to narrate a temple’s divine emergence.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Skanda
• Narmadeśa
• Satīśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

After receiving tīrtha-glory teachings, the seeker is urged to inquire further into the origins of sacred liṅgas—deepening faith and understanding.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is implied as the setting for Satīśvara; Narmadeśa is referenced as the previously praised sacred region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse models śravaṇa (hearing) and praśna (reverent inquiry) as spiritual disciplines.