Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

तपस्यतस्तस्य मुनेः पुरोदृग्गोचरं गता । शुचिरप्सरसां श्रेष्ठा रूपलावण्यशालिनी

Transliteration

tapasyatastasya muneḥ purodṛggocaraṃ gatā | śucirapsarasāṃ śreṣṭhā rūpalāvaṇyaśālinī

Translation

ထိုမုနိသည် တပဿာကျင့်နေစဉ်၊ သူ၏မျက်စိရှေ့တွင် အပ္စရာတို့အနက် အမြတ်ဆုံးဖြစ်သော သုချီသည် ရုပ်ရည်လှပမှုနှင့် လာဝဏ္ဏယဖြင့် တောက်ပလျက် ပေါ်လာ하였다။

Word by Word

• तपस्यतः: of the one performing austerity
• तपस्यतः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine); 'तपस्यत्' इति वर्तमानकृदन्त-प्रातिपदिकस्य (शतृ) षष्ठी एकवचन

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine/Neuter)

• मुनेः: of the sage
• मुनेः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine)

• पुरः: in front
• पुरः: Adhikarana (Locative sense/setting)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरस् (अव्यय/उपसर्गार्थ-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (Indeclinable), अव्यय-उपपद; अर्थः 'समक्षम्/अग्रतः' (in front)

• दृक्: sight/eye
• दृक्: Qualifier within compound
• Type: Noun
• Root: दृश् (धातु) → दृक् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रातिपदिक (nominal stem) 'दृक्' = दृष्टि/नेत्र; समासाङ्ग (compound member)

• गोचरम्: into the range of (his) sight
• गोचरम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोचर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine); 'पुरः-दृक्-गोचर' इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (in-front-of-sight range)

• गता: went/came
• गता: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) → गत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त (Past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); क्रियार्थे प्रयोगः (functioning as finite: 'went/came')

• शुचिः: pure
• शुचिः: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुचि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• अप्सरसाम्: of the apsarases
• अप्सरसाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप्सरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine)

• श्रेष्ठा: the best
• श्रेष्ठा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• रूपलावण्यशालिनी: possessing beauty and charm
• रूपलावण्यशालिनी: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रूप (प्रातिपदिक) + लावण्य (प्रातिपदिक) + शालिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); 'रूप-लावण्य-शालिनी' इति तत्पुरुषः (having beauty and grace)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa typically Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis (typical frame; not stated in verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A forest-hermitage near Kāśī: a sage seated in deep meditation, matted locks and deer-skin, while the radiant apsaras Śuci appears at the edge of his vision, luminous ornaments and flowing garments contrasting the austere setting.

Characters & Entities

• Vedaśiras
• Śuci (apsaras)
• Apsaras

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma often frames tapas as tested by allure; steadfastness in austerity is shown as a spiritual ideal.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is part of the Pañcanada origin narrative, setting the scene that will explain the tīrtha’s emergence and greatness.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; it describes the context of tapas (austerity) that underlies tīrtha sanctity.