Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 85

Devanagari script

साम्नो योनिं लये हेतुं साक्षाद्रुद्रस्वरूपिणम् । अथ तत्पुरतो ध्याता व्यधात्स्वनयनातिथिम्

Transliteration

sāmno yoniṃ laye hetuṃ sākṣādrudrasvarūpiṇam | atha tatpurato dhyātā vyadhātsvanayanātithim

Translation

اس نے اسے سَامَن (سام وید) کی یونی، لَے (فنا) کا سبب، اور عین رُدر کے سوروپ کے طور پر دیکھا۔ پھر اس دھیانی نے اسے اپنے سامنے، اپنی آنکھوں کے مہمان کی طرح، دیدار کے لیے رکھ دیا۔

Word by Word

• साम्नः: of the sāman (Vedic chant)
• साम्नः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन — “of sāman/chant”

• योनिम्: source, womb, origin
• योनिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• लये: in dissolution (laya)
• लये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन — “in dissolution/absorption”

• हेतुम्: cause
• हेतुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हेतु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• साक्षात्: directly, manifestly
• साक्षात्: Visheshana (Adverbial qualifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: साक्षात् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) “directly/manifestly”

• रुद्र-स्वरूपिणम्: having the form of Rudra
• रुद्र-स्वरूपिणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + स्वरूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष “रुद्रस्य स्वरूपः यस्य” (having Rudra as form)

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — अव्ययपद (discourse particle) “then/thereupon”

• तत्-पुरतः: in front of that
• तत्-पुरतः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + पुरतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्यय — स्थानवाचक (locative adverb) “in front of that/there”

• ध्याता: the meditator
• ध्याता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्यातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — “the meditator”

• व्यधात्: he arranged/created
• व्यधात्: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: धा (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; उपसर्ग ‘वि-’ — “he placed/arranged/created”

• स्व-नयन-अतिथिम्: a guest to his eyes (a sight to behold)
• स्व-नयन-अतिथिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + नयन (प्रातिपदिक) + अतिथि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध) “स्वस्य नयनस्य अतिथिः” — ‘guest of (his) eyes’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (frame; not explicit in verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tapasvin-meditator beholds a luminous Rudra-principle, felt as the womb of Sāman and the cause of dissolution; he ‘places’ the vision before his eyes like an honored guest.

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Sāmaveda (Sāman)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dissolution (laya) is not mere negation but a divine function identified with Rudra and sacred sound (Sāman).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the overarching locus where such Rudra-centered sound-metaphysics is taught in the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the emphasis is on contemplative ‘darśana’—placing the principle before one’s vision.