Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

मध्यस्थोपि हि सर्वस्य माध्यस्थ्यमवलंबतै । सर्वत्रायं महेशानो मित्राऽमित्रसमानदृक्

Transliteration

madhyasthopi hi sarvasya mādhyasthyamavalaṃbatai | sarvatrāyaṃ maheśāno mitrā'mitrasamānadṛk

Translation

सर्वांच्या मध्ये असूनही तो परिपूर्ण तटस्थता धारण करतो. सर्वत्र हा महेशान मित्र-शत्रू यांना समदृष्टीने पाहतो.

Word by Word

• madhyasthaḥ: neutral/standing in the middle
• madhyasthaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: madhyastha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• api: also/though
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (also/though)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (indeed)

• sarvasya: of all
• sarvasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• mādhyasthyam: neutrality
• mādhyasthyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mādhyasthya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• avalambate: adopts/maintains
• avalambate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava√lamb (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• sarvatra: everywhere
• sarvatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्ययीभावार्थे देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• ayam: this (one)
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• maheśānaḥ: Mahēśāna (Great Lord)
• maheśānaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maheśāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• mitra-amitra-samāna-dṛk: seeing friend and foe alike
• mitra-amitra-samāna-dṛk: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mitra + amitra + samāna + dṛś (धातु; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक dṛk)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम्; समासः—तत्पुरुष (मित्रे च अमित्रे च समानदृक् = equal-seeing toward friend and foe)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue tradition, Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Maheśāna standing at the center of Kāśī, his gaze equally blessing a king and a beggar, a friend and an enemy, while the city’s lanes and ghats radiate outward.

Characters & Entities

• Maheśāna (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

God’s vision is unbiased; spiritual maturity mirrors this equanimity, rising above attachment and aversion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is the implied sacred setting in the Kāśī Khaṇḍa, grounded in Śiva’s all-pervading, impartial lordship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the focus is ethical-theological: impartiality as divine nature.