Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 85

Devanagari script

सम्यक्संविद्महे तात धुवस्य न मनीषितम् । पदं परिजिहीर्षुः स कस्यास्मासु महातपाः

Transliteration

samyaksaṃvidmahe tāta dhuvasya na manīṣitam | padaṃ parijihīrṣuḥ sa kasyāsmāsu mahātapāḥ

Translation

«Мы не вполне разумеем, почтенный, что замыслил Дхрува. Этот великий подвижник, похоже, намерен отнять некое “пада”, то есть положение; у кого из нас он желает его отнять?»

Word by Word

• samyak: clearly, correctly
• samyak: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samyak (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (properly, fully)

• saṃvidmahe: we know, we understand
• saṃvidmahe: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + √vid (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचनम्; आत्मनेपदम्

• tāta: O dear one / O father
• tāta: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनम्

• dhuvasya: of Dhruva
• dhuvasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhuva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्; ध्रुवस्य (Dhruva)

• na: not
• na: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation)

• manīṣitam: intention, wish
• manīṣitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manīṣita (√man/√mān, धातु; क्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त) used substantively; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्

• padam: position, abode
• padam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्

• parijihīrṣuḥ: desiring to take away
• parijihīrṣuḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pari + √hṛ (धातु)
• Form: इच्छार्थक-कृदन्त (सन्/इच्छा-प्रत्यय: जिहीर्षु), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; agrees with "saḥ"

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• kasya: of whom? whose?
• kasya: Sambandha (Genitive query/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्; interrogative pronoun

• asmāsu: among us
• asmāsu: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचनम्; ‘among us/in us’

• mahātapāḥ: the great ascetic
• mahātapāḥ: Karta (Subject apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समासः (महत्तपाः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; apposition to "saḥ"

Speaker

Devas

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvija

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devas, uneasy, ask Brahmā whose ‘station’ Dhruva intends to seize; above them a symbolic celestial wheel shows a bright fixed star at the north, while Brahmā listens with calm discernment.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Dhruva
• Devas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual striving can surpass worldly rank; those attached to status fear what devotion and tapas can legitimately attain.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī remains the overarching frame in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, but this line concerns celestial ‘pada’ (status) rather than a pilgrimage location.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed; the verse references tapas as Dhruva’s means and the devas’ concern.