Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

शंके चित्त भुवो राज्ञो लसत्पटकुटीद्वयम् । अनर्घ्यरत्नकोशाढ्यं तम्या वक्षोरुहद्वयम्

Transliteration

śaṃke citta bhuvo rājño lasatpaṭakuṭīdvayam | anarghyaratnakośāḍhyaṃ tamyā vakṣoruhadvayam

Translation

مجھے گمان ہوتا ہے کہ کام دیو کے راجا کا اپنا ہی مسکن گویا یہ دو روشن کپڑے کے شامیانے بن گیا ہے—اس کے دو پستان—جو ایسے معلوم ہوتے ہیں جیسے انمول جواہرات کے خزانوں سے بھرے ہوں۔

Word by Word

• śaṃke: I suspect / I think
• śaṃke: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śaṅk (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन (Singular); आत्मनेपदम्

• citta: O mind
• citta: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: citta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); संबोधनार्थे (vocative sense)

• bhuvaḥ: of the world
• bhuvaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhuvan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• rājñaḥ: of the king
• rājñaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• lasat-paṭa-kuṭī-dvayam: the pair of huts with shining cloth-curtains
• lasat-paṭa-kuṭī-dvayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lasat (कृदन्त, √las) + paṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + kuṭī (प्रातिपदिक) + dvaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—विशेषणपूर्वक तत्पुरुषः (determinative)

• anarghya-ratna-kośa-āḍhyam: rich with a treasury of priceless jewels
• anarghya-ratna-kośa-āḍhyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anarghya (प्रातिपदिक) + ratna (प्रातिपदिक) + kośa (प्रातिपदिक) + āḍhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषणम् (adjective) to vakṣoruhadvayam

• tamyāḥ: of Tamyā
• tamyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tamyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• vakṣoruha-dvayam: the pair of breasts
• vakṣoruha-dvayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vakṣoruha (प्रातिपदिक) + dvaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A courtly, kāvya-like close-up: the heroine’s shining breasts compared to twin cloth pavilions (paṭa-kuṭī-dvaya), imagined as treasure-houses of priceless jewels; the mood is luxuriant and metaphor-heavy.

Characters & Entities

• Kāma (Ananga/Manmatha)
• Kāśī (implied context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even worldly beauty, when framed within Kāśī’s sacred narrative, is presented as a poetic pointer to the extraordinary power of devotion and auspiciousness in Śiva’s city.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa; the verse participates in the broader Kāśī-māhātmya atmosphere rather than naming a single tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed in this verse; it is descriptive praise within the Kāśī-māhātmya context.