Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

तदेव तत्र नो दृष्टं भवद्वंद्वं भवापहम् । प्रायो विषादजनकं भवतोर्यददर्शनम्

Transliteration

tadeva tatra no dṛṣṭaṃ bhavadvaṃdvaṃ bhavāpaham | prāyo viṣādajanakaṃ bhavatoryadadarśanam

Translation

وہاں ہم نے تم دونوں کے اُس مقدس جوڑے کو نہ دیکھا—جو بھَو (دنیاوی بننے) کو مٹانے والے ہیں؛ اور زیادہ تر تم دونوں کے دیدار نہ ہونے ہی سے یہ غم پیدا ہوتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; निर्देश (that)

• एव: indeed; only
• एव: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देश-अव्यय (locative adverb: there)

• नः: of us; our
• नः: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive: of us/our)

• दृष्टम्: seen
• दृष्टम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दृश् (धातु) + दृष्ट (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि (seen)

• भवत्-द्वन्द्वम्: your pair (you two)
• भवत्-द्वन्द्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + द्वन्द्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (your pair/duality)

• भव-अपहम्: removing worldly existence
• भव-अपहम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भव (प्रातिपदिक) + अपह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष (remover of saṃsāra) विशेषण (of भवत्-द्वन्द्वम्)

• प्रायः: generally; mostly
• प्रायः: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रायः (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रायशः-अव्यय (adverb: generally/mostly)

• विषाद-जनकम्: sorrow-causing
• विषाद-जनकम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विषाद (प्रातिपदिक) + जनक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (producer of sorrow)

• भवतोः: of you two
• भवतोः: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), द्विवचन; सम्बन्ध (of you two)

• यत्: that which
• यत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative)

• अदर्शनम्: non-seeing; not being seen; absence of sight
• अदर्शनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Dadhīci (addressing Satī; referring to Śiva–Satī as the ‘pair’)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims or sages stand in Kāśī lamenting that they did not behold the divine pair who dispel saṃsāra; the city’s shrines and riverfront frame their yearning.

Characters & Entities

• Satī (Dākṣāyaṇī)
• Śiva
• Dadhīci

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine darśana is portrayed as liberating (bhavāpaha), while separation from it becomes the seed of sorrow—highlighting devotion as a remedy for saṃsāra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single site is named in the verse; the broader Kāśīkhaṇḍa setting celebrates Kāśī as the place where Śiva’s presence and darśana are supremely accessible.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the emphasis is on darśana (sacred seeing) and its spiritual effect.