Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

हरिरुवाच । भालनेत्रसमाख्याहि कथं निर्वाणमंडपः । तथा ख्यातिमसौ गंता यथा देवेन भाषितम्

Transliteration

hariruvāca | bhālanetrasamākhyāhi kathaṃ nirvāṇamaṃḍapaḥ | tathā khyātimasau gaṃtā yathā devena bhāṣitam

Translation

ହରି କହିଲେ— ‘ନିର୍ବାଣ-ମଣ୍ଡପ “ଭାଲନେତ୍ର” ନାମରେ କିପରି ପରିଚିତ? ଏବଂ ଦେବ ଯେପରି କହିଛନ୍ତି, ସେହିପରି ଖ୍ୟାତି ଏହା କିପରି ପାଇବ?’

Word by Word

• hariḥ: Hari
• hariḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• bhāla-netra-samākhyā: the name ‘Bhālanetra’
• bhāla-netra-samākhyā: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāla (प्रातिपदिक) + netra (प्रातिपदिक) + samākhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (भालस्य नेत्रम्; तस्य समाख्या)

• hi: indeed, for
• hi: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• katham: how?
• katham: Prashna (Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रश्नवाचक (interrogative adverb)

• nirvāṇa-maṃḍapaḥ: the Nirvāṇa-pavilion
• nirvāṇa-maṃḍapaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nirvāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + maṃḍapa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (nirvāṇasya maṃḍapaḥ)

• tathā: thus, in that manner
• tathā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक (adverb of manner)

• khyātim: fame, renown
• khyātim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khyāti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• asau: that (one)
• asau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• gantā: will attain/go (will come to)
• gantā: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (गम् धातु) + tṛ (तृन् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (तृन्-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्तरि (agent noun), भविष्यत्-अर्थे (one who will attain/go)

• yathā: as, just as
• yathā: Sambandha (Correlation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, उपमान/अनुरूपता-बोधक (correlative adverb: as)

• devena: by the god
• devena: Karana (Instrument/Agent-in-passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• bhāṣitam: spoken, said
• bhāṣitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhāṣ (भाष् धातु) + kta (क्त प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृत), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे (passive sense)

Speaker

Hari

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nirvāṇa-maṇḍapa / Bhālanetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devadeva (Śiva)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A conversational scene: Hari asks Devadeva about a pavilion by the Ganga. The Nirvāṇa-maṇḍapa stands behind them, and above it a subtle emblem of Śiva’s third eye (forehead-eye) radiates, foreshadowing the explanation of ‘Bhālanetra.’

Characters & Entities

• Hari
• Nirvāṇa-maṇḍapa
• Bhālanetra (epithet linked to Śiva’s forehead-eye)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred place-names in Kāśī are not arbitrary; they encode divine events and teachings that later become widely renowned.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Nirvāṇa-maṇḍapa, also known as Bhālanetra, in the Kāśī kṣetra tradition.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is a question initiating an explanatory narrative.