Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

त्वया यथा समाकर्णि तदुत्संगनिवासिना । तथा कथय षड्वक्त्र तत्क्षेत्रं मेऽतिरोचते

Transliteration

tvayā yathā samākarṇi tadutsaṃganivāsinā | tathā kathaya ṣaḍvaktra tatkṣetraṃ me'tirocate

Translation

“جیسے تم نے اُس سے سنا ہے جو اُس کی گود میں بستا ہے، ویسے ہی بیان کرو، اے شش مُکھ! وہ مقدس کھیتر مجھے بہت بھاتا ہے۔”

Word by Word

• त्वया: by you
• त्वया: Kartr̥/Hetu (Agent/Instrumental)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/स्त्री (सर्वनाम), तृतीया (3/करण), एकवचन; instrumental singular

• यथा: as
• यथा: Sambandha (Correlative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; as/how

• समाकर्णि: you heard
• समाकर्णि: Kriyā (Main action in subordinate clause)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-√कर्ण्/√श्रु (धातु; ‘to hear’)
• Form: लुङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/Aorist), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; 2nd person singular aorist: 'you heard'

• तत्-उत्सङ्ग-निवासिना: by the one dwelling in his lap
• तत्-उत्सङ्ग-निवासिना: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of implied agent)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम) + उत्सङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + निवासिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3/करण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास: 'तस्य उत्सङ्गे निवासिन्' (dwelling in his lap)

• तथा: in the same way
• तथा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; thus/in that manner

• कथय: tell/narrate
• कथय: Kriyā (Command)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कथ् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; 2nd person singular imperative

• षड्वक्त्र: O Six-faced one
• षड्वक्त्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षट् (संख्या) + वक्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि: 'षड् वक्त्राणि यस्य' (six-faced)

• तत्-क्षेत्रम्: that holy region
• तत्-क्षेत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम) + क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2/कर्म), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'तत् क्षेत्रम्' (that sacred place)

• मे: to me
• मे: Sampradāna/Sambandha (to me)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी एकवचन (enclitic); genitive/dative singular 'to me/of me'

• अतिरोचते: pleases greatly/appeals
• अतिरोचते: Kriyā (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अति-√रुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान/Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; 3rd person singular ātmanepada

Speaker

Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and other sages (frame implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Agastya, eager for Kāśī’s kṣetra-kathā, addresses Skanda as Ṣaḍvaktra, requesting an exact retelling of what Skanda heard from Śiva in Pārvatī’s lap-presence.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Ṣaḍvaktra (Skanda)
• Avimukta-kṣetra (implied Kāśī)
• Śiva
• Pārvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred place-glory is best received as faithfully transmitted teaching, not as invention—śruti-like fidelity to the lineage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Avimukta-kṣetra of Kāśī (Vārāṇasī).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the focus is on accurate narration of the māhātmya.