Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 85

Devanagari script

तिलकांकित सद्भालान्कुशोपग्रहितांगुलीन् । कृष्णाजिनोपविष्टांश्च यज्ञसूत्रैरलंकृतान्

Transliteration

tilakāṃkita sadbhālānkuśopagrahitāṃgulīn | kṛṣṇājinopaviṣṭāṃśca yajñasūtrairalaṃkṛtān

Translation

ਉਸ ਨੇ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਵੇਖਿਆ—ਮੰਗਲਮਯ ਮੱਥਿਆਂ ਉੱਤੇ ਤਿਲਕ ਦੇ ਚਿੰਨ੍ਹ, ਉਂਗਲੀਆਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਕੁਸ਼ਾ-ਘਾਹ ਧਾਰਨ ਕੀਤੇ; ਕ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਣਾਜਿਨ ਉੱਤੇ ਬੈਠੇ ਹੋਏ ਅਤੇ ਯਜ੍ਞੋਪਵੀਤ ਦੇ ਪਵਿੱਤਰ ਸੂਤਰਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਸੁਸ਼ੋਭਿਤ।

Word by Word

• तिलक-अङ्कित: marked with tilaka
• तिलक-अङ्कित: Karma (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तिलक + अङ्कित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle) ‘अङ्कित’; पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• सद्भालान्: with noble/bright foreheads
• सद्भालान्: Karma (Apposition to sages)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत् + भाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचन; (भाल = forehead)

• कुश-उपग्रहित-अङ्गुलीन्: whose fingers were held/covered with kuśa (grass)
• कुश-उपग्रहित-अङ्गुलीन्: Karma (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुश + उपग्रहित + अङ्गुलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त (P.P.P.) ‘उपग्रहित’; पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• कृष्णाजिन-उपविष्टान्: seated on black antelope skins
• कृष्णाजिन-उपविष्टान्: Karma (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृष्णाजिन + उपविष्ट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त (P.P.P.) ‘उपविष्ट’; पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

• यज्ञसूत्रैः: with sacred threads
• यज्ञसूत्रैः: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ + सूत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचन

• अलङ्कृतान्: adorned
• अलङ्कृतान्: Karma (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अलङ् + कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त (P.P.P.); पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa typically Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close, detailed portrayal of the Saptarṣis: tilaka-marked foreheads, kuśa-grass held in fingers, seated on kṛṣṇājina (black antelope skins), sacred threads gleaming across their chests.

Characters & Entities

• Saptarṣi
• Kuśa
• Yajñopavīta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True spiritual authority is signified by discipline, Vedic observance, and purity—visible in the sages’ ritual emblems.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the verse is a reverential description of ṛṣis within the Kāśī narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct injunction; it references Vedic ritual symbols (kuśa, yajñopavīta) associated with sacred rites.