Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

उद्दंडैश्चापि शेहुंडैरेरंडैर्गुडपुष्पकैः । बकुलैस्तिलकैश्चैव तिलकांकितमस्तकम्

Transliteration

uddaṃḍaiścāpi śehuṃḍaireraṃḍairguḍapuṣpakaiḥ | bakulaistilakaiścaiva tilakāṃkitamastakam

Translation

اُدّند پودوں، شِہُند، اَیرنڈ (ارنڈی) اور گُڑپُشپک کے ساتھ؛ نیز بَکُل اور تِلک کے درختوں سے—یوں معلوم ہوتا تھا جیسے اس دھرتی کی پیشانی پر مبارک تلک لگا ہو، گویا زمین خود ہی مقدس کر دی گئی ہو۔

Word by Word

• uddaṃḍaiḥ: with uddaṃḍa-trees
• uddaṃḍaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uddaṃḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (वृक्षनाम), तृतीया (3rd) बहुवचन — instrumental plural

• ca: and
• ca: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• api: also
• api: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्यय (also)

• śehuṃḍaiḥ: with śehuṃḍa-trees
• śehuṃḍaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śehuṃḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (वृक्षनाम), तृतीया (3rd) बहुवचन — instrumental plural

• eraṃḍaiḥ: with castor plants (eraṇḍa)
• eraṃḍaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eraṃḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd) बहुवचन — instrumental plural

• guḍapuṣpakaiḥ: with guḍapuṣpaka-trees
• guḍapuṣpakaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + puṣpaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमासः (कर्मधारय/षष्ठी-प्रायः), पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd) बहुवचन — instrumental plural

• bakulaiḥ: with bakula-trees
• bakulaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bakula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd) बहुवचन — instrumental plural

• tilakaiḥ: with tilaka-trees
• tilakaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tilaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd) बहुवचन — instrumental plural

• ca: and
• ca: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• tilaka-aṃkita-mastakam: having the head marked with tilaka
• tilaka-aṃkita-mastakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tilaka (प्रातिपदिक) + aṃkita (कृदन्त; √aṅk धातु) + mastaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमासः (‘तिलकेन अङ्कितं मस्तकं’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd) एकवचन — accusative singular

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A personified landscape whose ‘forehead’ is adorned with tilaka-like trees—bakula and tilaka—amid uddaṃḍa plants, śehuṃḍa, castor, and guḍapuṣpaka; the holy ground appears ritually marked and auspicious.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Eraṇḍa (castor)
• Bakula
• Tilaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is intrinsically consecrated—its very terrain is imagined as bearing auspicious marks like a devotee.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), described as a sanctified kṣetra adorned like a worshipper.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; the verse alludes to tilaka as a symbol of sanctity and devotion.