Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

अनुत्तरं नाम तपो येन तप्तं हि तत्पुरा । त्रीणिवर्षसहस्राणि दिव्यानीतीह नौ श्रुतम्

Transliteration

anuttaraṃ nāma tapo yena taptaṃ hi tatpurā | trīṇivarṣasahasrāṇi divyānītīha nau śrutam

Translation

Thuở xưa, Ngài đã tu khổ hạnh mang danh ‘Anuttara’. Suốt ba nghìn năm thiêng, Ngài chuyên trì tapas ấy—điều này chúng tôi đã được nghe tại đây.

Word by Word

• anuttaram: unsurpassed
• anuttaram: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anuttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण

• nāma: named, called
• nāma: Sambandha (Appositive marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāma (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नाम-शब्दः (quotative/particle ‘called/namely’)

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• yena: by which
• yena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular); सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम

• taptam: was performed (austerity was done)
• taptam: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tap (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Discourse particle (Nipāta/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• tat: that (austerity)
• tat: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम

• purā: formerly
• purā: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: काल-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• trīṇi: three
• trīṇi: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), बहुवचन (Plural); संख्या-विशेषण

• varṣasahasrāṇi: thousands of years
• varṣasahasrāṇi: Kāla (Duration/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), बहुवचन (Plural)

• divyāni: divine
• divyāni: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: divya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषण

• iti: thus
• iti: Discourse particle (Nipāta/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण-निपात (quotative particle)

• iha: here
• iha: Deśa (Place/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: देश-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• nau: of us two / to us two
• nau: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th) द्विवचन (Dual) / वैकल्पिकं: चतुर्थी (Dative/4th) द्विवचन; सर्वनाम

• śrutam: has been heard
• śrutam: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); भावे प्रयोग (impersonal: ‘it is heard’)

Speaker

Viṣṇugaṇas

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śivaśarmā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Atri performs the ‘Anuttara’ tapas for three thousand divine years—an image of unmoving ascetic concentration amid changing seasons and cosmic time.

Characters & Entities

• Atri
• tapas (Anuttara)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sustained tapas is portrayed as a cosmic force that yields extraordinary spiritual and celestial results.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No direct tīrtha; this is background to Somaloka lore within Kāśīkhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An example of tapas (austerity) is described, not a public ritual prescription.