Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

तस्तंभ गात्रलतिका मुखवैवर्ण्यमाप च । स्वरोथ गद्गदो जातो व्यभ्रंशत्तत्करात्पटी

Transliteration

tastaṃbha gātralatikā mukhavaivarṇyamāpa ca | svarotha gadgado jāto vyabhraṃśattatkarātpaṭī

Translation

اُس کے نازک اعضا یکایک اکڑ گئے؛ چہرے کا رنگ پھیکا پڑ گیا۔ پھر آواز گلوگیر ہو گئی، اور اس کے ہاتھ سے کپڑا (پٹی) پھسل کر گر پڑا۔

Word by Word

• tastaṃbha: became stiff / was paralyzed
• tastaṃbha: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: stambh (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular); परस्मैपदम्; धातु: स्तम्भ्—‘स्तम्भति’

• gātra-latikā: the creeper-like limbs (her body)
• gātra-latikā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gātra (प्रातिपदिक) + latikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (sg.); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (gātrasya latikā)

• mukha-vaivarṇyam: paleness/discoloration of the face
• mukha-vaivarṇyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukha (प्रातिपदिक) + vaivarṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), द्वितीया (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (sg.); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (mukhasya vaivarṇyam)

• āpa: attained / came to
• āpa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन (sg.); परस्मैपदम्; धातु: आप्—‘आप्नोति’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• svaraḥ: voice
• svaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा (Nom., 1st), एकवचन (sg.)

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्यय (then/thereupon)

• gadgadaḥ: stammering, faltering
• gadgadaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gadgada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा (Nom., 1st), एकवचन (sg.); विशेषणम् (qualifying ‘svaraḥ’)

• jātaḥ: became / arose
• jātaḥ: Kriya (Result state/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु) (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle, क्त), पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा (Nom.), एकवचन; धातु: जन्—‘जायते’

• vyabhraṃśat: fell down / slipped away
• vyabhraṃśat: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhraṃś (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन (sg.); परस्मैपदम्; उपसर्गः वि-

• tat-karāt: from her hand
• tat-karāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), पञ्चमी (Ablative, 5th), एकवचन (sg.); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (tasya karaḥ)

• paṭī: a cloth/garment
• paṭī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṭī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nom., 1st), एकवचन (sg.)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa typically Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī (general kṣetra context)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A noble woman suddenly stiffens; her complexion pales; her voice chokes; a cloth slips from her hand as attendants look on in alarm within a Kāśī courtyard/ghāṭ setting.

Characters & Entities

• Kalāvatī (implied)
• Jñānavāpī (context)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional intensity can overwhelm ordinary bodily control, indicating a mind absorbed beyond mundane awareness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Jñānavāpī (context), whose proximity precipitates the devotee’s powerful inner state.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a narrative description of devotional transformation.