Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

क्षेत्रैकदेशवर्तिन्या ज्ञानवाप्याः कथां पराम् । श्रुत्वेमामिति मन्येहं गौरीहृदयनंदन

Transliteration

kṣetraikadeśavartinyā jñānavāpyāḥ kathāṃ parām | śrutvemāmiti manyehaṃ gaurīhṛdayanaṃdana

Translation

اس مقدس کھیتر کے ایک حصے میں واقع ‘گیان واپی’ کی یہ اعلیٰ کتھا سن کر، اے گوری کے دل کے مسرّت، میں اب یوں ہی سمجھتا ہوں۔

Word by Word

• क्षेत्रैकदेशवर्तिन्या: by (that) abiding in a single part of the sacred field
• क्षेत्रैकदेशवर्तिन्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षेत्र + एक + देश + वर्तिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine) — समासः: क्षेत्रस्य एकदेशे वर्तते इति (क्षेत्रैकदेशवर्तिनी), तया

• ज्ञानवाप्याः: of the well of knowledge
• ज्ञानवाप्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान + वापी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठीविभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine) — समासः: ज्ञानस्य वापी

• कथाम्: story/discourse
• कथाम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• पराम्: supreme
• पराम्: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √श्रु (शृणोति) (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable verbal), ‘having heard’

• इमाम्: this
• इमाम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (Pronoun), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्तिबोधक अव्यय (quotative particle)

• मन्ये: I think
• मन्ये: Kriya (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √मन् (मन्यते) (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद (Ātmanepada), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन (Singular)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (Pronoun), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• गौरीहृदयनन्दन: O delight of Gaurī’s heart
• गौरीहृदयनन्दन: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गौरी + हृदय + नन्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बोधनप्रथमा (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine) — समासः: गौर्याः हृदयस्य नन्दनः

Speaker

Agastya (deduced; addressing Skanda)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jñānavāpī

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Addressed to ‘Gaurīhṛdayānandana’ (Śiva) as vocative; broader audience includes Śikhiratha in the surrounding passage

Visual Art Cues

Scene: After hearing the supreme story of Jñānavāpī, the speaker addresses ‘Gaurī-hṛdayānandana’ (Śiva) with renewed conviction; the well is envisioned as a luminous, knowledge-giving spring within Kāśī’s sacred quarter.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Gaurī (Pārvatī)
• Jñānavāpī
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even a specific sub-region within Kāśī kṣetra can carry profound liberating significance when its māhātmya is heard.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Jñānavāpī (the ‘Well of Knowledge’) located within a part of Kāśī kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed; the verse foregrounds hearing the kathā (māhātmya-śravaṇa).