Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

किं त्वं मे प्राक्तनं कर्म प्राप्तं तापसरूपधृक् । अथवा करुणावार्धिराविर्भूतः शिवो भवान्

Transliteration

kiṃ tvaṃ me prāktanaṃ karma prāptaṃ tāpasarūpadhṛk | athavā karuṇāvārdhirāvirbhūtaḥ śivo bhavān

Translation

ท่านคือกรรมเก่าของข้าพเจ้าหรือ ที่มาปรากฏต่อหน้าข้าพเจ้าในรูปนักบำเพ็ญตบะ? หรือว่าท่านคือพระศิวะเอง—มหาสมุทรแห่งกรุณา—ผู้บังเกิดปรากฏ ณ ที่นี้

Word by Word

• kim: is it (that)...?
• kim: Sambandha (Interrogation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (किम् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोग; प्रश्नार्थक निपात (interrogative particle: 'is it that...?')

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (युष्मद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• me: my
• me: Sambandha (Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (enclitic)

• prāktanam: former, previous
• prāktanam: Visheshana (Qualifier of karma)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prāktana (प्राक्तन प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म विशेषण

• karma: deed, karma
• karma: Karma (Object/predicate identification)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (कर्मन् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• prāptam: attained, come to (me)
• prāptam: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √prāp (प्राप् धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; भूतकृदन्त (क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म विशेषण

• tāpasa: of an ascetic
• tāpasa: Sambandha (Genitive in compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāpasa (तापस प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन (समासाङ्ग)

• rūpa: form
• rūpa: Sambandha (Object in compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rūpa (रूप प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन (समासाङ्ग)

• dhṛk: bearing (the) ascetic form
• dhṛk: Karta (Predicate nominative of tvam)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √dhṛ (धृ धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; धृक् (क्विप्/कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक: 'bearing'); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—तापसरूपं धत्ते इति

• athavā: or else
• athavā: Sambandha (Alternative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: athavā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (or else)

• karuṇā: of compassion
• karuṇā: Sambandha (Genitive in compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karuṇā (करुणा प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन (समासाङ्ग)

• vārdhiḥ: ocean
• vārdhiḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārdhi (वार्धि प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—करुणायाः वार्धिः (ocean of compassion)

• āvirbhūtaḥ: manifest, appeared
• āvirbhūtaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective of bhavān)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: āvis + √bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; भूतकृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• śivaḥ: Śiva
• śivaḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (शिव प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• bhavān: you (sir)
• bhavān: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (भवत् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; आदरार्थक सर्वनाम

Speaker

Tvāṣṭra (the seeker)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta/Kāśī (theological backdrop)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka-ādi ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Tvāṣṭra looks up with awe, torn between fear of karma and hope of grace; the ascetic’s eyes are deep like an ocean, hinting at Śiva’s presence—subtle third-eye suggestion or crescent-moon motif barely visible.

Characters & Entities

• Tvāṣṭra
• Śiva
• Tāpasa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Grace may arrive through human-looking forms; the devotee learns to see Śiva’s compassion working through destiny and saintly presence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Viśveśvara’s city) is the underlying sacred setting of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where Śiva’s compassion is especially celebrated.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse frames the encounter as either karmic fruition or Śiva’s compassionate manifestation.