Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

स्कंद उवाच । वाराणस्यां तथादित्या ये चान्ये तान्वदाम्यतः । कलशोद्भव ते प्रीत्या सर्वे सर्वाघनाशनाः

Transliteration

skaṃda uvāca | vārāṇasyāṃ tathādityā ye cānye tānvadāmyataḥ | kalaśodbhava te prītyā sarve sarvāghanāśanāḥ

Translation

พระสกันทร์ตรัสว่า: ในพาราณสี มีเหล่าอาทิตยะและปูชนียรูปอื่น ๆ ที่สถิตอยู่ ณ ที่นั้น บัดนี้เราจักกล่าวพรรณนา. โอ้ท่านผู้บังเกิดจากหม้อ (อคัสตยะ) เพื่อความปีติของท่าน—ทั้งหมดล้วนเป็นผู้ทำลายบาปทั้งปวง

Word by Word

• skaṃdaḥ: Skanda
• skaṃdaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: skaṃda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• vārāṇasyām: in Vārāṇasī
• vārāṇasyām: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārāṇasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• tathā: also, likewise
• tathā: Discourse connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/रीत्यर्थक-अव्यय (also/likewise)

• ādityāḥ: Ādityas (sun-deities)
• ādityāḥ: Karma (Object of ‘I describe’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āditya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• ye: who/which
• ye: Karta (Relative subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-यत् (relative pronoun)

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• anye: others
• anye: Karta (Relative subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• tān: them
• tān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• vadāmi: I tell/describe
• vadāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vad (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन

• ataḥ: therefore/now
• ataḥ: Discourse connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतुवाचक/तस्मात्-अर्थक-अव्यय (therefore/from this point)

• kalaśa-udbhava: O Pot-born one (Agastya)
• kalaśa-udbhava: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalaśa (प्रातिपदिक) + udbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘born from a pot’ (epithet of Agastya)

• te: for you
• te: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया/चतुर्थी-रूपम्, एकवचन; अत्र चतुर्थी (4th/सम्प्रदान) ‘for you’ (enclitic)

• prītyā: out of affection
• prītyā: Karana/Hetu (Means/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prīti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; हेतौ/भावे ‘out of affection’

• sarve: all
• sarve: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• sarva-agha-nāśanāḥ: destroyers of all sins
• sarva-agha-nāśanāḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + agha (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः ‘destroyers of all sin’, विशेषणम् (sarve)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Āditya-sthalas of Vārāṇasī (collective)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya (Kalaśodbhava/Kumbha-born)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Skanda instructs Agastya: a sage seated, attentive; behind them a stylized map-like panorama of Kāśī with multiple small Āditya shrines glowing as nodes.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
• Agastya (Kalaśodbhava)
• Ādityas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s sacred geography is mapped through named divine presences; knowing and approaching them is framed as a path of purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī/Kāśī as a whole, especially its network of Āditya manifestations and related sacred spots.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse initiates a descriptive catalog of sites; the implied practice is pilgrimage/recognition and worship of the Ādityas in Kāśī.