Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

स्मारं स्मारं स्मररिपोः पुरीं त्वमिव शंकरः । अदुनोन्मंदरं यातो बहुशस्तदवाप्तये

Transliteration

smāraṃ smāraṃ smararipoḥ purīṃ tvamiva śaṃkaraḥ | adunonmaṃdaraṃ yāto bahuśastadavāptaye

Translation

เมื่อระลึกถึงนครของผู้เป็นศัตรูแห่งสมระ (พระศิวะ) ซ้ำแล้วซ้ำเล่า ท่านเองก็ประหนึ่งพระศังกร ได้ไปยังธามอันประเสริฐยิ่งนั้นครั้งแล้วครั้งเล่าเพื่อบรรลุถึงมัน

Word by Word

• स्मारम्: remembrance / thinking
• स्मारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्मार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; (अव्ययीभावेन) क्रियाविशेषणवत्—‘स्मरणम्’ इति

• स्मारम्: again and again remembering
• स्मारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्मार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (intensive repetition)

• स्मररिपोः: of the enemy of Kāma (Śiva)
• स्मररिपोः: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्मर + रिपु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—‘स्मरस्य रिपुः’ (enemy of Kāma)

• पुरीम्: the city (Kāśī)
• पुरीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• इव: as if / like
• इव: Sambandha (Comparative marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्यय (particle of comparison)

• शंकरः: Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• शंकरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अदुनः: tormented / afflicted
• अदुनः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अद् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; धातु: अद्—‘खादने/भक्षणे’ (here: ‘gnawed/tormented’)

• उन्मन्दरम्: in a distraught/deranged manner
• उन्मन्दरम्: Kriya-Visheshana (Adverbial qualifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उन्मन्दर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत्—‘उन्मत्तवत्/विक्षिप्तचित्तवत्’

• यातः: went / departed
• यातः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (भूतकर्मणि/भूतकाले), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; धातु: या—‘गत्यर्थे’

• बहुशः: many times
• बहुशः: Kriya-Visheshana (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बहुशस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• तत्: of that / its
• तत्: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; ‘तस्य’ (in sandhi with अवाप्तये)

• अवाप्तये: for obtaining (it)
• अवाप्तये: Sampradana (Purpose/प्रयोजन-चतुर्थी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवाप्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (सम्प्रदान/प्रयोजन), एकवचन; ‘प्राप्तये’

Speaker

Skanda (contextual attribution within Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogues; addressing Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee repeatedly contemplating Kāśī—its ghāṭas, liṅgas, and Śiva’s presence—while setting out again and again on pilgrimage, mirroring Śaṅkara’s own attachment to the city.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Smararipu/Śaṅkara)
• Kāśī (purī, implied)
• Smara (Kāma)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places are sought through sustained remembrance and repeated pilgrimage; Kāśī is depicted as supremely worth attaining.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, described as the city of Smararipu (Śiva).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed; the emphasis is on repeated smaraṇa (remembrance) and yātrā (going/pilgrimage) to Kāśī.