Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

स्कंद उवाच । आनंदबाष्पसलिलरुद्धकंठं विलोक्य तम् । मृडः पस्पर्श पाणिभ्यां सौधाभ्यां तु सुधांबुधिः

Transliteration

skaṃda uvāca | ānaṃdabāṣpasalilaruddhakaṃṭhaṃ vilokya tam | mṛḍaḥ pasparśa pāṇibhyāṃ saudhābhyāṃ tu sudhāṃbudhiḥ

Translation

ਸਕੰਦ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ: ਆਨੰਦ ਦੇ ਅੰਸੂਆਂ ਦੀ ਧਾਰ ਨਾਲ ਗਲਾ ਰੁੱਧ ਹੋਇਆ ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਵੇਖ ਕੇ, ਮ੍ਰਿਡ ਰੁਦ੍ਰ—ਸੁਧਾ ਦਾ ਸਮੁੰਦਰ—ਨੇ ਆਪਣੇ ਦੋਵੇਂ ਹੱਥਾਂ ਨਾਲ, ਠੰਢੇ ਤੇ ਸਾਂਤ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲੇ, ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਛੂਹਿਆ।

Word by Word

• skaṃdaḥ: Skanda
• skaṃdaḥ: Karta (Speaker/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: skanda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect); प्रथम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ānanda-bāṣpa-salila-ruddha-kaṇṭham: with throat choked by joyful tears
• ānanda-bāṣpa-salila-ruddha-kaṇṭham: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of tam)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ānanda (प्रातिपदिक) + bāṣpa (प्रातिपदिक) + salila (प्रातिपदिक) + ruddha (कृदन्त; √rudh) + kaṇṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष समास; पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन; विशेषणम् (whose throat is choked by tears of joy)

• vilokya: having seen
• vilokya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√lok (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभाव (gerund)

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• mṛḍaḥ: Mṛḍa (Śiva)
• mṛḍaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• pasparśa: touched
• pasparśa: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √spṛś (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect); प्रथम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• pāṇibhyām: with (his) two hands
• pāṇibhyām: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāṇi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति; द्विवचन (instrumental dual)

• saudhābhyām: nectar-like / pure
• saudhābhyām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of pāṇibhyām)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saudha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति; द्विवचन; विशेषणम् (nectar-like/pure; lit. ‘made of nectar/whitewash’)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Samuccaya/Avadhāraṇa (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोध/अन्वय (particle: but/indeed)

• sudhā-ambudhiḥ: ocean of nectar (epithet)
• sudhā-ambudhiḥ: Apposition (Epithet of mṛḍaḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sudhā (प्रातिपदिक) + ambudhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष समास; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmeśa (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Purāṇic audience (traditional: sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Skanda narrates: Rudra, gentle and nectar-like, places both cool hands upon the tear-choked Dharmarāja, soothing him back into composure.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Śiva (Mṛḍa/Rudra)
• Dharmarāja (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva’s compassion is not only verbal; it is intimate and healing—divine grace restores the devotee’s strength.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the implied sacred theatre where such direct, mercy-filled encounters with Śiva are celebrated.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse highlights consoling divine touch as a motif of anugraha (grace).