Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

आनंदकाननं येन स्तुतमेतत्सुचेतसा । तेनाहं संस्तुतः सम्यक्सर्वैः सूक्तैः श्रुतीरितैः

Transliteration

ānaṃdakānanaṃ yena stutametatsucetasā | tenāhaṃ saṃstutaḥ samyaksarvaiḥ sūktaiḥ śrutīritaiḥ

Translation

येन सुचेतसा एतद् आनन्दकाननं स्तुतम्, तेनाहं सम्यक् संस्तुतः—श्रुतीरितैः सर्वैः सूक्तैः इव।

Word by Word

• ānanda-kānanam: the bliss-grove (Ānandakānana)
• ānanda-kānanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ānanda (प्रातिपदिक) + kānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय (descriptive: 'blissful forest')

• yena: by whom
• yena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (Pronoun), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• stutam: praised
• stutam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √stu (धातु) → stuta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृत् (Past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive sense: 'praised')

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (Pronoun), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular)

• su-cetasā: with a good mind / by the pure-minded one
• su-cetasā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद) + cetas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine) (cetas), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय (descriptive: 'good-minded')

• tena: by him
• tena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (Pronoun), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (Pronoun), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• saṃstutaḥ: praised
• saṃstutaḥ: Pradhana (Predicate complement/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√stu (धातु) → saṃstuta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृत् (Past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मणि भाव (I am praised)

• samyak: properly, fully
• samyak: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samyak (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Indeclinable), क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• sarvaiḥ: by all
• sarvaiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine/Neuter), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषण (qualifying sūktaiḥ)

• sūktaiḥ: by hymns / well-spoken verses
• sūktaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūkta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural)

• śruti-īritaiḥ: uttered by the Śrutis (Vedas)
• śruti-īritaiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śruti (प्रातिपदिक) + īrita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; from √īr)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter) (sūkta), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural); तृतीया-तत्पुरुष/सम्बन्ध (determinative: 'uttered by śruti')

Speaker

Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandakānana (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The addressed sage/devotee; also a general audience within the dialogue

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pure-minded devotee praises the bliss-forest Ānandakānana; above, subtle Vedic ṛk-mantras appear as luminous script, merging into Śiva’s form—showing equivalence of stuti and śruti.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Ānandakānana
• Kāśī
• Śruti (Vedas)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Glorifying Kāśī/Ānandakānana is equivalent to offering the highest Vedic praise to Śiva.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ānandakānana—Kāśī’s sacred ‘Forest of Bliss’ within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Stuti/stavana of Ānandakānana (Kāśī) as a supreme devotional act.