Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

आनंदकानने यानि यत्र संति षडानन । तानि लिंगस्वरूपाणि समाचक्ष्व ममाग्रतः

Transliteration

ānaṃdakānane yāni yatra saṃti ṣaḍānana | tāni liṃgasvarūpāṇi samācakṣva mamāgrataḥ

Translation

اے شڈانن! آنندکانن میں جہاں جہاں جو مقدّس ظہور موجود ہیں، وہ سب لِنگ کے سوروپ ہیں؛ میرے سامنے اُن کی حقیقت صاف صاف بیان کرو۔

Word by Word

• आनन्दकानने: in the Ānandakānana (forest of bliss)
• आनन्दकानने: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आनन्द-कानन (प्रातिपदिक; आनन्द + कानन)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; स्थानवाचक अधिकरण (locative of place)

• यानि: which (things)
• यानि: Karta/Karma (Subject/Object as context)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/प्रथमा or 2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्थानवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb: where)

• सन्ति: are/exist
• सन्ति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• षडानन: O Six-faced one (Skanda)
• षडानन: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षड्-आनन (प्रातिपदिक; षड् + आनन)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; संबोधन (vocative address)

• तानि: those
• तानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/प्रथमा or 2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; निर्देशार्थ सर्वनाम (demonstrative)

• लिङ्गस्वरूपाणि: of the nature/form of liṅgas
• लिङ्गस्वरूपाणि: Karma/Predicative complement (कर्म/विशेषणार्थ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग-स्वरूप (प्रातिपदिक; लिङ्ग + स्वरूप)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/प्रथमा or 2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; विशेष्यभावे (as predicate/attribute)

• समाचक्ष्व: tell/explain (clearly)
• समाचक्ष्व: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• मम: of me / my
• मम: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive: of me)

• अग्रतः: in front (of)
• अग्रतः: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अग्रतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्थानवाचक (in front of)

Speaker

Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandakānana (within Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya/Kumbhaja (frame listener, implied by next verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A seeker addresses Ṣaḍānana (Skanda) within the verdant Ānandakānana of Kāśī, requesting an enumeration of the grove’s liṅga-manifestations; background shows clustered shrines, bilva trees, and pilgrims.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Skanda (Ṣaḍānana)
• Ānandakānana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage knowledge is also theology: tīrthas are to be understood as embodied divine signs (liṅga-svarūpa) within sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ānandakānana—the sacred grove-region of Kāśī celebrated as filled with liṅga manifestations.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it requests authoritative explanation, which supports correct worship and pilgrimage practice.