Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

चेष्टितं तस्य को वेद वेदवेद्यस्य चेशितुः । मनागिति च जानेहं तच्चेष्टितमिदं जगत्

Transliteration

ceṣṭitaṃ tasya ko veda vedavedyasya ceśituḥ | manāgiti ca jānehaṃ tacceṣṭitamidaṃ jagat

Translation

ਉਸ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ—ਵੇਦਾਂ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਜਾਣੇ ਜਾਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਸ਼ਾਸਕ—ਦੀ ਲੀਲਾ ਕੌਣ ਜਾਣ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ? ਮੈਂ ਤਾਂ ਕੇਵਲ ਇਤਨਾ ਹੀ ਜਾਣਦਾ ਹਾਂ ਕਿ ਇਹ ਸਾਰਾ ਜਗਤ ਉਸ ਦੀ ਕ੍ਰਿਆ ਦਾ ਹੀ ਖੇਡ ਹੈ।

Word by Word

• ceṣṭitam: activity, conduct
• ceṣṭitam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ceṣṭita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचन

• tasya: of him/that
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे/नपुंसके षष्ठी एकवचन (genitive)

• kaḥ: who
• kaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचन (interrogative)

• veda: knows
• veda: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vid (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदी; प्रथमपुरुष एकवचन

• veda-vedyasya: of the one knowable by the Vedas
• veda-vedyasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक) + vedya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (वेदैः वेद्यः); पुल्लिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचन (ईशितुः इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• īśituḥ: of the ruler/lord
• īśituḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचन

• manāk: a little, slightly
• manāk: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: manāk (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्तिसूचक अव्यय (quotative)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• jāne: I know
• jāne: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jñā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपदी; उत्तमपुरुष एकवचन

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा एकवचन (pronoun)

• tat-ceṣṭitam: that activity
• tat-ceṣṭitam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + ceṣṭita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (इदं जगत् इति विशेष्येण सह प्रथमा)

• idam: this
• idam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचन (जगत् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• jagat: world, universe
• jagat: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (contextual attribution)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage-speaker gestures toward the vast cosmos—sun, moon, rivers, beings—declaring it all as the Lord’s ceṣṭita; the Lord remains veiled yet present.

Characters & Entities

• Veda
• Īśa/Īśitu (the Lord—Śiva in Kāśī context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine governance is ultimately beyond full human grasp; recognizing the world as the Lord’s working cultivates humility and devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Implicitly Kāśī, where the Lord who is ‘Veda-vedya’ is especially celebrated as Viśveśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; it conveys a theological view of the Lord’s incomprehensible workings.