Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 76

Devanagari script

नवम्यामथवाष्टम्यां चंडीयात्रा शुभा मता । अंतर्गृहस्य वै यात्रा कर्तव्या प्रतिवासरम्

Transliteration

navamyāmathavāṣṭamyāṃ caṃḍīyātrā śubhā matā | aṃtargṛhasya vai yātrā kartavyā prativāsaram

Translation

നവമിയിലോ അഷ്ടമിയിലോ ചണ്ഡീ യാത്ര ശുഭമാണെന്ന് കരുതപ്പെടുന്നു. കൂടാതെ അന്തർഗൃഹത്തിന്റെ (അന്തര്പരിക്രമ) യാത്ര പ്രതിദിനവും നിർബന്ധമായി ചെയ്യണം.

Word by Word

• navamyām: on the ninth (tithi)
• navamyām: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: navamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्तिः (Locative/7th), एकवचनम्; कालवाचक (on the ninth tithi)

• atha: or
• atha: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तर/विकल्पसूचक) = or/then

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विकल्पार्थक conjunction) = or

• aṣṭamyām: on the eighth (tithi)
• aṣṭamyām: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्तिः (Locative/7th), एकवचनम्; कालवाचक (on the eighth tithi)

• caṇḍī-yātrā: Caṇḍī pilgrimage/rite
• caṇḍī-yātrā: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caṇḍī + yātrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम्; विषय/कर्तृस्थानी (elliptic ‘(kāryā)’)

• śubhā: auspicious
• śubhā: Sambandha (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (yātrā)

• matā: is considered
• matā: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: man (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle) ‘मत’ = considered; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; विधेय (is regarded as)

• antaḥ-gṛhasya: of the inner house / of the interior
• antaḥ-gṛhasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antaḥ + gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्तिः (Genitive/6th), एकवचनम्; सम्बन्धः — ‘अन्तर्गृहम्’ (inside the house)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निश्चयार्थक) = indeed

• yātrā: pilgrimage/rite
• yātrā: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yātrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम्; कर्तृस्थानी (in obligative)

• kartavyā: must be performed
• kartavyā: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: कृत्य-प्रत्यय (तव्यत्) ‘कर्तव्य’ = to be done; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; विधेय (must be done)

• prati-vāsaram: every day
• prati-vāsaram: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prati (अव्यय) + vāsara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः; अर्थे: प्रतिदिनम् (every day)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Caṇḍī-yātrā; Antargṛha-yātrā (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On Aṣṭamī/Navamī, devotees visit Caṇḍī with red flowers and lamps; every day, pilgrims walk the Antargṛha inner circuit through Kāśī’s sacred lanes, treating the city itself as a living sanctum.

Characters & Entities

• Caṇḍī
• Aṣṭamī
• Navamī
• Antargṛha (inner circuit)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s sanctity is upheld through both special-day worship (tithi-based) and daily disciplined sacred movement.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Caṇḍī’s shrine and the Antargṛha (inner Kāśī) pilgrimage circuit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Do Caṇḍī-yātrā on Aṣṭamī or Navamī, and perform Antargṛha-yātrā every day.