Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 60

Devanagari script

स्कंद उवाच । सोमनंदि प्रभृतिषु मुने पंचगणेष्वपि । आनंदकाननं प्राप्य स्थितेषु स्थाणुरब्रवीत्

Transliteration

skaṃda uvāca | somanaṃdi prabhṛtiṣu mune paṃcagaṇeṣvapi | ānaṃdakānanaṃ prāpya sthiteṣu sthāṇurabravīt

Translation

ସ୍କନ୍ଦ କହିଲେ—ହେ ମୁନେ, ସୋମାନନ୍ଦି ଆଦି ପାଞ୍ଚ ଗଣ ଆନନ୍ଦକାନନକୁ ପ୍ରାପ୍ତ ହୋଇ ସେଠାରେ ଦଣ୍ଡାୟମାନ ହେଲେ, ତେବେ ସ୍ଥାଣୁ (ଶିବ) କହିଲେ।

Word by Word

• skaṃdaḥ: Skanda
• skaṃdaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: skaṃda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/लिट्), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• somanaṃdi: in/among Somanandin (name)
• somanaṃdi: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: soma (प्रातिपदिक) + naṃdin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (समूह-निर्देशे); तत्पुरुष-नाम (proper name)

• prabhṛtiṣu: among (those) beginning with
• prabhṛtiṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), बहुवचन; ‘प्रभृति’ = beginning/others; locative plural ‘among (those) beginning with…’

• mune: O sage
• mune: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• paṃcagaṇeṣu: among the five groups
• paṃcagaṇeṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṃcan (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), बहुवचन; द्विगु-समासः ‘पञ्च (संख्या) + गणाः’

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपि-कार (also/even)

• ānaṃdakānanam: Ānandakānana (the ‘forest of bliss’)
• ānaṃdakānanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ānaṃda (प्रातिपदिक) + kānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘आनन्दस्य काननम्’

• prāpya: having reached
• prāpya: Kriya (Non-finite verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra√āp (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having reached’

• sthiteṣu: when (they) were present/standing
• sthiteṣu: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √sthā (धातु) → sthita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), बहुवचन; ‘when (they) were standing/being present’

• sthāṇuḥ: Sthāṇu (Śiva)
• sthāṇuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthāṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• abravīt: spoke
• abravīt: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √brū (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/लङ्), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandaka/Ānandakānana

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Muni (unnamed sage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Skanda narrates: Somānandi and five gaṇas arrive at a lush, blissful grove; Śiva (Sthāṇu) stands or sits beneath a sacred tree, about to speak; the scene is poised at the threshold of revelation.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Somānandi
• Pañcagaṇa (five gaṇas)
• Ānandakānana
• Sthāṇu (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is depicted as Śiva’s living domain, where even his gaṇas gather and divine instruction unfolds within sacred space.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ānandakānana, a blissful sacred grove associated with Śiva’s presence in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the verse sets the narrative scene for Śiva’s instruction.