Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मादिस्थावरांतानि यत्र रूपण्यनेकशः । मामेवोपासते नित्यं चित्रं चित्रगतान्यपि

Transliteration

brahmādisthāvarāṃtāni yatra rūpaṇyanekaśaḥ | māmevopāsate nityaṃ citraṃ citragatānyapi

Translation

جہاں برہما سے لے کر ساکن و جامد مخلوقات تک، بے شمار صورتوں میں، ہمیشہ صرف میری ہی عبادت کرتے ہیں؛ تعجب یہ کہ وہاں تصویروں کے اندر کی شکلیں بھی ایسا ہی کرتی ہیں۔

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मादिस्थावरान्तानि: ending with the immovables beginning with Brahmā
• ब्रह्मादिस्थावरान्तानि: Visheshana (Qualifier of rūpāṇi/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्म-आदि-स्थावर-अन्त (प्रातिपदिक; components: ब्रह्म + आदि + स्थावर + अन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (‘ending with immovables beginning with Brahmā’)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (relative adverb), देशवाचक

• रूपाणि: forms
• रूपाणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• अनेकशः: in many ways / manifoldly
• अनेकशः: Prakara (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनेकशस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), प्रकारवाचक

• माम्: me
• माम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• एव: only/indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (restrictive particle)

• उपासते: they worship
• उपासते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-आस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावेन प्रयुक्तम् (adverbial accusative)

• चित्रम्: wondrously / strange!
• चित्रम्: Sambandha (Exclamation/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (adverbial neuter accusative), विस्मयार्थे

• चित्रगतानि: situated in a picture
• चित्रगतानि: Visheshana (Qualifier of rūpāṇi/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चित्र-गत (प्रातिपदिक; components: चित्र + गत)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (‘gone into/contained in a picture’)

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चयार्थ

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, addressing Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (universal-upāsanā-sthāna motif)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Interlocutor in Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative frame (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inside a grand Kāśī hall, gods, humans, animals, trees, and stones face the Lord in worship; on the walls, painted figures also turn toward the deity, as if the art has come alive in devotion—an enchanted, totalizing sacred panorama.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In the supreme sacred space of Kāśī, devotion is universal and contagious—everything participates in worship, symbolizing the all-pervading Lord.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī as a uniquely charged sacred geography where worship permeates all forms.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, upāsanā (ongoing worship) of the Lord; no single rite is specified.