Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 67

Devanagari script

रहस्यं परिविज्ञाय क्षेत्रस्य शशिमौलिनः । अगस्त्यो निश्चितमनाः शिवध्यानपरोभवत्

Transliteration

rahasyaṃ parivijñāya kṣetrasya śaśimaulinaḥ | agastyo niścitamanāḥ śivadhyānaparobhavat

Translation

ശശിമൗലി ഭഗവാന്റെ ക്ഷേത്രത്തിന്റെ രഹസ്യം പൂർണ്ണമായി അറിഞ്ഞ്, അഗസ്ത്യൻ ദൃഢനിശ്ചയത്തോടെ ശിവധ്യാനത്തിൽ മുഴുവനായി ലീനനായി।

Word by Word

• रहस्यम्: secret
• रहस्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रहस्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• परिविज्ञाय: having fully understood
• परिविज्ञाय: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: परि + वि + ज्ञा (धातु) + ल्यप्/य (अव्यय-कृदन्त)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund)

• क्षेत्रस्य: of the sacred place/field
• क्षेत्रस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• शशिमौलिनः: of Śiva (moon-crested)
• शशिमौलिनः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शशिमौलि (प्रातिपदिक: शशि + मौलि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः (‘शशिः मौलौ यस्य’/‘शशिमौलिः’ = चन्द्रमौलि-शिवः)

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

• निश्चितमनाः: with resolute mind
• निश्चितमनाः: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निश्चित + मनस् (प्रातिपदिक; निश्चि(√चि/चित्) + क्त; मनस्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि-समासः (‘निश्चितं मनः यस्य सः’)

• शिव: Śiva
• शिव: Qualifier within compound
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, (समासपूर्वपद)

• ध्यानपरः: devoted to meditation
• ध्यानपरः: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ध्यानपर (प्रातिपदिक: ध्यान + पर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘ध्याने परः’), समासः शिव-सम्बन्धेन ‘शिवध्यानपरः’

• अभवत्: became
• अभवत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Vyāsa (continuing narrative frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī (Śaśimauli’s kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Agastya, having comprehended Kāśī’s secret, sits in firm meditation on Śiva—moon-crested, serene, luminous—while the sacred city fades into a contemplative backdrop.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Śiva (Śaśimauli)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Knowing the inner ‘secret’ of a holy place culminates in focused devotion—Śiva-meditation—rather than mere travel.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The kṣetra of Śiva in the Kāśī narrative framework—Kāśī as a Śiva-kṣetra with an esoteric rahasya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No external rite is specified; the practice emphasized is Śiva-dhyāna (meditation on Śiva).