Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

के देशाः काश्च सरितः के शैलास्त्वत्कृते ध्रुव । मया चरणचारिण्या राजपत्न्या न लंघिताः

Transliteration

ke deśāḥ kāśca saritaḥ ke śailāstvatkṛte dhruva | mayā caraṇacāriṇyā rājapatnyā na laṃghitāḥ

Translation

Wahai Dhruva, demi engkau negeri mana, sungai mana, gunung mana yang belum kulalui? Walau aku permaisuri, aku tetap mengembara dengan berjalan kaki.

Word by Word

• ke: which? what (ones)?
• ke: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative Plural)

• deśāḥ: countries/places
• deśāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative Plural)

• kāḥ: which? what (fem.)
• kāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative Plural)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय (conjunction)

• saritaḥ: rivers
• saritaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarit (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative Plural)

• ke: which? what (ones)?
• ke: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative Plural)

• śailāḥ: mountains
• śailāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative Plural)

• tvat: for you/your
• tvat: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-एकवचन (Genitive Singular), सर्वनाम

• kṛte: for the sake of
• kṛte: Prayojana (Purpose)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कृते (सप्तमी-एकवचनवत् अव्ययीभावार्थे) = ‘for the sake of’ (postposition-like)

• dhruva: O Dhruva/steadfast one
• dhruva: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhruva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-एकवचन (Vocative Singular)

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Instrument/agent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-एकवचन (Instrumental Singular), सर्वनाम

• caraṇa: foot
• caraṇa: Sambandha (in compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचन (Nom./Acc. Singular)

• cāriṇyā: by (me) walking on foot
• cāriṇyā: Karana (Instrument/agent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāriṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-एकवचन (Instrumental Singular); समासः (तत्पुरुष) = caraṇa + cāriṇī (one who goes on foot)

• rājapatnyā: by (me), the king’s wife
• rājapatnyā: Karana (Instrument/agent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāja + patnī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-एकवचन (Instrumental Singular); समासः (तत्पुरुष) = rāja + patnī (king's wife)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle)

• laṃghitāḥ: crossed, traversed
• laṃghitāḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √laṅgh (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative Plural)

Speaker

A royal mother/queen (rājapatnī), speaking to her son Dhruva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (contextual) / general tīrtha-yātrā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages/seekers (unspecified)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A queen, without royal conveyance, walks barefoot with minimal attendants, crossing a river ford and approaching distant hills—dust on her feet, resolve on her face, a sense of long journey.

Characters & Entities

• Dhruva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True devotion and love ignore status and comfort; determination turns the whole world into a path of seeking.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named; the verse evokes pan-Indian sacred geography consistent with Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s pilgrimage ethos.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes arduous travel rather than a formal rite.