Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

स्कंद उवाच । वाराणस्यां तथादित्या ये चान्ये तान्वदाम्यतः । कलशोद्भव ते प्रीत्या सर्वे सर्वाघनाशनाः

Transliteration

skaṃda uvāca | vārāṇasyāṃ tathādityā ye cānye tānvadāmyataḥ | kalaśodbhava te prītyā sarve sarvāghanāśanāḥ

Translation

سکند نے کہا: وارانسی میں جو آدتیہ اور دیگر مقدس تجلیات ہیں، اب میں ان کا بیان کرتا ہوں۔ اے کلش سے پیدا ہونے والے (اگستیہ)، تمہاری خوشنودی کے لیے—وہ سب ہر گناہ کو مٹانے والے ہیں۔

Word by Word

• skaṃdaḥ: Skanda
• skaṃdaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: skaṃda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• vārāṇasyām: in Vārāṇasī
• vārāṇasyām: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārāṇasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• tathā: also, likewise
• tathā: Discourse connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/रीत्यर्थक-अव्यय (also/likewise)

• ādityāḥ: Ādityas (sun-deities)
• ādityāḥ: Karma (Object of ‘I describe’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āditya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• ye: who/which
• ye: Karta (Relative subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-यत् (relative pronoun)

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

• anye: others
• anye: Karta (Relative subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• tān: them
• tān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• vadāmi: I tell/describe
• vadāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vad (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन

• ataḥ: therefore/now
• ataḥ: Discourse connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतुवाचक/तस्मात्-अर्थक-अव्यय (therefore/from this point)

• kalaśa-udbhava: O Pot-born one (Agastya)
• kalaśa-udbhava: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalaśa (प्रातिपदिक) + udbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘born from a pot’ (epithet of Agastya)

• te: for you
• te: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया/चतुर्थी-रूपम्, एकवचन; अत्र चतुर्थी (4th/सम्प्रदान) ‘for you’ (enclitic)

• prītyā: out of affection
• prītyā: Karana/Hetu (Means/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prīti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; हेतौ/भावे ‘out of affection’

• sarve: all
• sarve: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• sarva-agha-nāśanāḥ: destroyers of all sins
• sarva-agha-nāśanāḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + agha (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः ‘destroyers of all sin’, विशेषणम् (sarve)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Āditya-sthalas of Vārāṇasī (collective)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya (Kalaśodbhava/Kumbha-born)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Skanda instructs Agastya: a sage seated, attentive; behind them a stylized map-like panorama of Kāśī with multiple small Āditya shrines glowing as nodes.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
• Agastya (Kalaśodbhava)
• Ādityas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s sacred geography is mapped through named divine presences; knowing and approaching them is framed as a path of purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī/Kāśī as a whole, especially its network of Āditya manifestations and related sacred spots.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse initiates a descriptive catalog of sites; the implied practice is pilgrimage/recognition and worship of the Ādityas in Kāśī.