Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 91

Devanagari script

श्रुत्वांधसिकवाक्यं स महासत्त्वो महामतिः । नृपतिश्चिंतयामास देवानां वै कृतं त्विदम्

Transliteration

śrutvāṃdhasikavākyaṃ sa mahāsattvo mahāmatiḥ | nṛpatiściṃtayāmāsa devānāṃ vai kṛtaṃ tvidam

Translation

ครั้นสดับถ้อยคำของผู้คนผู้หลงงงแล้ว พระราชาผู้มีมหาสัตว์และมหาปัญญาก็ใคร่ครวญในพระทัยว่า “แท้จริง สิ่งนี้ย่อมเป็นการกระทำของเหล่าเทวะ”

Word by Word

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier of main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (श्रु धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा), indeclinable verbal form; ‘having heard’

• andhasika-vākyam: the words of Andhasika
• andhasika-vākyam: Karma (Object of ‘having heard’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: andhasika (अन्धसिक प्रातिपदिक) + vākya (वाक्य प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध): ‘of Andhasika’ + ‘speech/statement’

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; pronoun

• mahā-sattvaḥ: great-souled
• mahā-sattvaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (महा प्रातिपदिक) + sattva (सत्त्व प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; कर्मधारय: ‘great’ + ‘being/valor’ → ‘great-souled’

• mahā-matiḥ: great-minded
• mahā-matiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (महा प्रातिपदिक) + mati (मति प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; कर्मधारय: ‘great’ + ‘mind/intellect’

• nṛpatiḥ: the king
• nṛpatiḥ: Karta (Subject; apposition to saḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (नृप प्रातिपदिक) + pati (पति प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; तत्पुरुष: ‘of men’ + ‘lord’

• ciṃtayāmāsa: pondered
• ciṃtayāmāsa: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: cint (चिन्त् धातु)
• Form: Periphrastic perfect (लिट्/परस्मैपद-परिप्रयोग), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular; ‘he thought/pondered’

• devānām: of the gods
• devānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (देव प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha-bodhaka (Emphasis/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (वै अव्यय)
• Form: Particle/emphatic (निपात)

• kṛtam: done/made
• kṛtam: Kriyā (Predicative complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; used predicatively

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (तु अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction/particle (निपात), adversative/emphatic

• idam: this
• idam: Karta (Subject of predication with kṛtam)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (इदम् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; demonstrative pronoun

Speaker

Narrator (within the Kāśī Khaṇḍa frame), describing the King’s reflection

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis (Naimiṣāraṇya frame typical)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A wise king, surrounded by confused townsmen, turns inward in contemplation, eyes half-closed, sensing a divine hand behind the disturbance; Kāśī’s sacred skyline implied in the background.

Characters & Entities

• King (Nṛpati)
• Devas (gods)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A dhārmic ruler interprets extraordinary disruptions with discernment, acknowledging the possibility of divine causation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the implied sacred milieu; this verse emphasizes divine intervention rather than a specific shrine or tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a contemplative moment in the narrative.