Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

द्विसप्तायतनानां च कार्या यात्रा प्रयत्नतः । कृष्णां प्रतिपदं प्राप्य भूतावधि यथाविधि

Transliteration

dvisaptāyatanānāṃ ca kāryā yātrā prayatnataḥ | kṛṣṇāṃ pratipadaṃ prāpya bhūtāvadhi yathāvidhi

Translation

พึงเพียรพยายามประกอบการจาริกไปยังสถานศักดิ์สิทธิ์ทั้งสิบสี่ให้ครบถ้วน ครั้นถึงวันประติปทาแห่งปักษ์มืดแล้ว พึงปฏิบัติตามพระวินัยประเพณีตลอดระยะเวลาที่กำหนด

Word by Word

• द्विसप्तायतनानाम्: of the fourteen shrines/abodes
• द्विसप्तायतनानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वि (प्रातिपदिक) + सप्त (प्रातिपदिक) + आयतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; द्विगुसमासः (द्वि+सप्त=द्विसप्त) ततः आयतन-सम्बद्धः

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

• कार्या: should be done
• कार्या: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु) → कार्य (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम्; ‘कार्य’ = कर्तव्या (gerundive/तव्यत्)

• यात्रा: pilgrimage
• यात्रा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यात्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• प्रयत्नतः: with effort, diligently
• प्रयत्नतः: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रयत्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb); ‘प्रयत्नतः’ = प्रयत्नेन/यत्नात् (with effort)

• कृष्णाम्: the dark (fortnight)
• कृष्णाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (अमावास्या/पक्ष-रात्रिः इत्यर्थे)

• प्रतिपदम्: the first lunar day (pratipadā)
• प्रतिपदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रतिपद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; तिथिवाचक-शब्दः

• प्राप्य: having reached
• प्राप्य: Purvakala (पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); ‘having reached/after attaining’

• भूतावधि: up to the prescribed limit (up to the prior boundary)
• भूतावधि: Adverbial (अवधि/सीमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भूत (प्रातिपदिक) + अवधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमासः; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः; ‘भूतावधि’ = भूतपर्यन्तम् (up to the past/previous limit)

• यथाविधि: according to rule
• यथाविधि: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय) + विधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमासः; क्रियाविशेषणम्; ‘as enjoined’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly as Skanda teaching Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvisaptāyatana-yātrā (Fourteen-shrine circuit) within Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at dawn in Kāśī prepares for a fourteen-shrine circuit, holding a small water-pot and prayer beads, with ghāṭs and temple spires in the background; a lunar calendar mark indicates kṛṣṇa-pratipadā.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred merit in Kāśī is safeguarded by disciplined, rule-based pilgrimage done with sincere effort.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a network of multiple āyatanas (holy shrines) to be visited in an ordered yātrā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform a fourteen-shrine yātrā beginning on the dark-fortnight pratipad and completing it within the stated term, following proper injunctions.