Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 47

Devanagari script

स्वर्गे वा मर्त्यलोके वा बलिसद्मनि वा मुने । क्व तदानंदगहनं यत्रानंदपयोब्धिजा

Transliteration

svarge vā martyaloke vā balisadmani vā mune | kva tadānaṃdagahanaṃ yatrānaṃdapayobdhijā

Translation

“کیا وہ جنت میں ہے، یا دنیاے فانی میں، یا اے منی، بَلی کے دھام میں؟ وہ سرور سے گھنا جنگل کہاں ہے جس سے گویا آنند کا سمندر اُمڈتا ہے؟”

Word by Word

• स्वर्गे: in heaven
• स्वर्गे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle: 'or')

• मर्त्यलोके: in the mortal world
• मर्त्यलोके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मर्त्य (प्रातिपदिक) + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मर्त्यानां लोकः)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle)

• बलिसद्मनि: in Bali's abode
• बलिसद्मनि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बलि (प्रातिपदिक) + सद्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (बलेः सद्म = Bali's abode)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle)

• मुने: O sage
• मुने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• क्व: where
• क्व: Desha (Locative sense/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: place)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• आनन्दगहनम्: that dense thicket/forest of bliss
• आनन्दगहनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आनन्द (प्रातिपदिक) + गहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (आनन्दस्य गहनम्)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Desha (Locative sense/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्धबोधक-अव्यय (relative adverb: place)

• आनन्दपयोब्धिजा: born from the ocean of blissful milk
• आनन्दपयोब्धिजा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आनन्द (प्रातिपदिक) + पयस् (प्रातिपदिक) + अब्धि (प्रातिपदिक) + जा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (आनन्द-रूप-पयः-अब्धेः जाता = born from the ocean of blissful milk)

Speaker

Tvāṣṭra

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandagahana (Ānandavana)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: the addressed muni/tapasvin

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Tvāṣṭra gestures upward and outward, naming Svarga, Martya, and Bali’s realm, while the sage indicates an unseen ‘dense grove of bliss’ whose radiance suggests an oceanic source of ānanda.

Characters & Entities

• Svarga
• Martyaloka
• Bali
• Ānandavana/Ānandagahana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse frames Kāśī’s sanctity as surpassing ordinary cosmological realms, hinting that divine bliss is concentrated in a sacred terrestrial geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The “Ānandagahana/Ānandavana” associated with Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), celebrated as a source of overflowing bliss.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it is a locational inquiry that sets up the praise and pilgrimage-value of Kāśī.