Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

अगस्त्य उवाच । दृष्ट्वा भूदेवताः शंभुं किमाचख्युः षडानन । कानिकानि च लिंगानि तत्र तान्यपिचक्ष्व मे

Transliteration

agastya uvāca | dṛṣṭvā bhūdevatāḥ śaṃbhuṃ kimācakhyuḥ ṣaḍānana | kānikāni ca liṃgāni tatra tānyapicakṣva me

Translation

อคัสตยะกล่าวว่า “โอ้ ษฑานนะ เมื่อเหล่าภูเทวตา—คือพราหมณ์ทั้งหลาย—ได้เห็นพระศัมภุแล้ว เขากล่าวสิ่งใด? และที่นั่นมีลึงค์ใดบ้าง จงบอกแก่ข้าด้วย”

Word by Word

• अगस्त्यः: Agastya
• अगस्त्यः: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अगस्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Speech act/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया/Adverbial action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) from √दृश् ‘to see’ — ‘having seen’

• भूदेवताः: the Bhūdevatās (Brahmins)
• भूदेवताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू + देवता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘earth-deities’ i.e., Brahmins), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• शंभुम्: Śambhu (Śiva)
• शंभुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शम्भु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• किम्: what
• किम्: Karma (Interrogative object/प्रश्नकर्म)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रश्न-शब्द (interrogative) — ‘what?’

• आचख्युः: told/declared
• आचख्युः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + चक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• षडानन: O Six-faced one (Skanda)
• षडानन: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षड् + आनन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (‘six-faced’), पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन

• कानिकानि: what kind of
• कानिकानि: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कानिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण of लिङ्गानि

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction) — ‘and’

• लिङ्गानि: signs/marks
• लिङ्गानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of place) — ‘there’

• तानि: those
• तानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; refers to लिङ्गानि

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle) — ‘also/indeed’

• चक्ष्व: tell
• चक्ष्व: Kriya (Command/आज्ञा)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• मे: to me
• मे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी (genitive/dative), एकवचन — ‘to me/of me’ (here: dative)

Speaker

Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī liṅga-samūha (introductory query)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Skanda (Ṣaḍānana)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Agastya, the venerable sage, asks Skanda (Ṣaḍānana) about what the brāhmaṇas said upon seeing Śambhu and requests an account of the liṅgas present there.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Skanda (Ṣaḍānana)
• Śiva (Śambhu)
• Brāhmaṇas (Bhūdevatāḥ)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverent inquiry into sacred geography (kṣetra) and liṅga-pratiṣṭhā traditions is itself a dharmic act that opens the way to understanding Kāśī’s greatness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, with special focus on a locale connected to multiple liṅgas (expanded in the following verses).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; the verse introduces discussion of liṅgas—implying liṅga-pūjā and knowledge of their sacred contexts.