Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

शंके चित्त भुवो राज्ञो लसत्पटकुटीद्वयम् । अनर्घ्यरत्नकोशाढ्यं तम्या वक्षोरुहद्वयम्

Transliteration

śaṃke citta bhuvo rājño lasatpaṭakuṭīdvayam | anarghyaratnakośāḍhyaṃ tamyā vakṣoruhadvayam

Translation

ਮੈਨੂੰ ਸ਼ੰਕਾ ਹੁੰਦੀ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਕਾਮਰਾਜ ਦਾ ਆਪਣਾ ਨਿਵਾਸ ਹੀ ਇਹ ਦੋ ਚਮਕਦੀਆਂ ਵਸਤ੍ਰ-ਮੰਡਪਿਕਾਵਾਂ ਬਣ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ—ਉਸ ਦੇ ਦੋ ਸਤਨ—ਜੋ ਅਨਮੋਲ ਰਤਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਖ਼ਜ਼ਾਨਿਆਂ ਨਾਲ ਭਰੇ ਹੋਏ ਜਾਪਦੇ ਹਨ।

Word by Word

• śaṃke: I suspect / I think
• śaṃke: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śaṅk (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन (Singular); आत्मनेपदम्

• citta: O mind
• citta: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: citta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); संबोधनार्थे (vocative sense)

• bhuvaḥ: of the world
• bhuvaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhuvan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• rājñaḥ: of the king
• rājñaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• lasat-paṭa-kuṭī-dvayam: the pair of huts with shining cloth-curtains
• lasat-paṭa-kuṭī-dvayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lasat (कृदन्त, √las) + paṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + kuṭī (प्रातिपदिक) + dvaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—विशेषणपूर्वक तत्पुरुषः (determinative)

• anarghya-ratna-kośa-āḍhyam: rich with a treasury of priceless jewels
• anarghya-ratna-kośa-āḍhyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anarghya (प्रातिपदिक) + ratna (प्रातिपदिक) + kośa (प्रातिपदिक) + āḍhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषणम् (adjective) to vakṣoruhadvayam

• tamyāḥ: of Tamyā
• tamyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tamyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• vakṣoruha-dvayam: the pair of breasts
• vakṣoruha-dvayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vakṣoruha (प्रातिपदिक) + dvaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A courtly, kāvya-like close-up: the heroine’s shining breasts compared to twin cloth pavilions (paṭa-kuṭī-dvaya), imagined as treasure-houses of priceless jewels; the mood is luxuriant and metaphor-heavy.

Characters & Entities

• Kāma (Ananga/Manmatha)
• Kāśī (implied context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even worldly beauty, when framed within Kāśī’s sacred narrative, is presented as a poetic pointer to the extraordinary power of devotion and auspiciousness in Śiva’s city.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa; the verse participates in the broader Kāśī-māhātmya atmosphere rather than naming a single tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed in this verse; it is descriptive praise within the Kāśī-māhātmya context.