Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 84

Devanagari script

यथायथा हि वर्धेत जलमेकार्णवस्य च । तथातथोन्नयेदीशस्तत्क्षेत्रं प्रलयादपि

Transliteration

yathāyathā hi vardheta jalamekārṇavasya ca | tathātathonnayedīśastatkṣetraṃ pralayādapi

Translation

جیسے جیسے ایک ہی کائناتی سمندر کا پانی بلند ہوتا جاتا ہے، ویسے ویسے پروردگار اس مقدّس کھیتر کو بھی اوپر اٹھا دیتا ہے—حتیٰ کہ پرلَی (قیامتِ کائنات) میں بھی۔

Word by Word

• yathā-yathā: as and as; whenever
• yathā-yathā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय) + yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय-युग्म (correlative adverb), पुनरुक्ति-प्रयोग: ‘as and as/whenever’

• hi: indeed; for
• hi: Particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• vardheta: would increase
• vardheta: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vṛdh (वृध्)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• jalam: water
• jalam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• ekārṇavasya: of the single ocean (cosmic flood)
• ekārṇavasya: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + arṇava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (‘एकः अर्णवः’)

• ca: and
• ca: Conjunction
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात (conjunction)

• tathā-tathā: accordingly; in that same way
• tathā-tathā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय) + tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय-युग्म (correlative adverb), पुनरुक्ति-प्रयोग: ‘so and so/accordingly’

• unnayet: would raise up; would lift
• unnayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-√nī (नी)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• īśaḥ: the Lord
• īśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम विशेषण

• kṣetram: the sacred field
• kṣetram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• pralayāt: from the dissolution (pralaya)
• pralayāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pralaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; अपादानार्थ (from)

• api: even; also
• api: Particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (also/even)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta / Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇa addressee / sages in listening assembly

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast pralaya-ocean (ekārṇava) rising; above it, Śiva lifts Kāśī like a radiant island-platform, with Viśveśvara’s liṅga shining, untouched by waters.

Characters & Entities

• Īśa (Śiva)
• Ekārṇava
• Pralaya
• Avimukta (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine grace preserves Kāśī: even cosmic dissolution cannot submerge the Lord’s chosen sacred ground.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Avimukta/Kāśī, portrayed as protected and upheld by Īśa (Śiva) even at pralaya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; the verse asserts the kṣetra’s indestructible sanctity.