Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 86

Devanagari script

अथ कालांतरे शंभुः प्रविश्यानंदकानमम् । पार्वत्यै दर्शयामास निजमाक्रीडकाननम्

Transliteration

atha kālāṃtare śaṃbhuḥ praviśyānaṃdakānamam | pārvatyai darśayāmāsa nijamākrīḍakānanam

Translation

Então, passado algum tempo, Śambhu entrou no bosque de suprema bem-aventurança chamado Ānandakānana e mostrou a Pārvatī o seu próprio jardim de deleite — sua floresta divina de recreio.

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connective)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (sequence marker: then/now)

• कालान्तरे: at a later time
• कालान्तरे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल-अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण (time-locative: at another time)

• शम्भुः: Śambhu (Śiva)
• शम्भुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शम्भु (प्रातिपदिक; शिवनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्ता

• प्रविश्य: having entered
• प्रविश्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-विश् (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), ‘having entered’

• आनन्दकाननम्: Ānandakānana
• आनन्दकाननम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आनन्द-कानन (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म (object of ‘प्रविश्य’)

• पार्वत्यै: to Pārvatī
• पार्वत्यै: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन; सम्प्रदान (recipient)

• दर्शयामास: showed
• दर्शयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु) + णिच् (causative)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिजन्त (causative: caused to see/showed)

• निजम्: his own
• निजम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘काननम्’)

• आक्रीडकाननम्: the pleasure-grove (play-forest)
• आक्रीडकाननम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आक्रीड-कानन (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म (object of ‘दर्शयामास’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandakānana (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śambhu and Pārvatī enter Ānandakānana: a radiant divine couple amid a luxuriant grove, with celestial attendants, flowering trees, and a subtle Kāśī temple silhouette—presented as Śiva’s own pleasure-garden.

Characters & Entities

• Śambhu
• Pārvatī
• Ānandakānana
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s sacred landscape is not merely terrestrial—it is Śiva’s own divine realm, revealed through intimate theophany.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ānandakānana/Ānandavana in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is descriptive, establishing the sanctity of the grove through Śiva’s presence.