Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

असमाप्तक्रतुशता वसंत्यत्र महीभुजः । ज्योतिष्टोमादिभिर्यागैर्ये यजंत्यपि ते द्विजाः

Transliteration

asamāptakratuśatā vasaṃtyatra mahībhujaḥ | jyotiṣṭomādibhiryāgairye yajaṃtyapi te dvijāḥ

Translation

یہاں وہ زمیں دار بادشاہ رہتے ہیں جن کے سو یَجْن ابھی نامکمل ہیں؛ اور یہاں وہ دِوِج بھی بستے ہیں جو جیوتِشٹوم وغیرہ یَگّیوں کے ذریعے پوجا و عبادت کرتے ہیں۔

Word by Word

• asamāpta-kratu-śatāḥ: having (their) hundred sacrifices unfinished
• asamāpta-kratu-śatāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-samāpta (उपसर्ग+कृदन्त/विशेषण) + kratu (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—"असमाप्ताः क्रतवः शतं येषां ते" (those whose hundred sacrifices are unfinished)

• vasanti: live, dwell
• vasanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vas (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb: here)

• mahī-bhujaḥ: kings, rulers
• mahī-bhujaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक) + bhuj (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—"महीम् भुनक्ति/भुजते इति" (earth-protectors)

• jyotiṣṭoma-ādibhiḥ: with (rites) such as Jyotiṣṭoma
• jyotiṣṭoma-ādibhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jyotiṣṭoma (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः—"ज्योतिष्टोमः आदिः येषां तैः" (with Jyotiṣṭoma etc.)

• yāgaiḥ: by sacrifices, offerings
• yāgaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• yajanti: sacrifice, perform worship
• yajanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yaj (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• api: also, even
• api: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle: also/even)

• te: those
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; निर्देश (demonstrative: those)

• dvijāḥ: Brahmins, twice-born
• dvijāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra) as the encompassing field; verse depicts Mahendranagarī as a loka/quarter within the praise

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous celestial quarter where crowned rulers and white-robed brāhmaṇas perform Jyotiṣṭoma-like rites; fire-altars glow, ladles and soma vessels gleam; the city appears as a mandala of yajña-fires.

Characters & Entities

• Mahībhuj (kings)
• Dvijas
• Jyotiṣṭoma
• Yāga (sacrifice)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred space is portrayed as a gathering-point for sustained dharmic effort—royal and priestly—centered on yajña.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

“Here” refers to the Mahendra/Amarāvatī-like sacred city being described within Kāśīkhaṇḍa Adhyāya 10.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performance of Vedic sacrifices such as Jyotiṣṭoma (and related yāgas) is referenced.