Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

उमोवाच । किंचित्प्रष्टुमना नाथ स्वसंदेहापनुत्तये । वद खेदो यदि न ते त्रिकालज्ञानकोविद

Transliteration

umovāca | kiṃcitpraṣṭumanā nātha svasaṃdehāpanuttaye | vada khedo yadi na te trikālajñānakovida

Translation

Umā thưa: Bạch Chúa Tể, con muốn hỏi đôi điều để trừ nghi hoặc của con. Nếu không làm Ngài phiền, xin Ngài dạy cho, hỡi Đấng tinh thông tri kiến ba thời.

Word by Word

• umā: Uma
• umā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: umā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• kiṃcit: a little
• kiṃcit: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kiṃcit (अव्यय/सर्वनाम)
• Form: अव्यय (अल्पपरिमाण/‘a little’)

• praṣṭum: to ask
• praṣṭum: Prayojana (Purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√prach (धातु) → praṣṭum (तुमुन्/infinitive)
• Form: कृदन्त, तुमुन् (infinitive)

• manāḥ: intending, desirous
• manāḥ: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: manas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिसदृश प्रयोगे ‘मनाः’ = ‘मनः यस्य’ (इच्छुक)

• nātha: O lord
• nātha: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nātha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन एकवचन

• sva: one's own
• sva: Sambandha (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासपूर्वपदम्; विशेषणार्थ

• saṃdeha: doubt
• saṃdeha: Sambandha (Genitive within compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃdeha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी एकवचन (समासाङ्ग)

• apanuttaye: for dispelling
• apanuttaye: Prayojana (Purpose/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: apa-√nud (धातु) → apanutti (प्रातिपदिक/क्तिन्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थे (for removal)

• vada: tell (me)
• vada: Kriya (Imperative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vad (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• khedaḥ: trouble, fatigue
• khedaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Conditional)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तबोधक अव्यय (if)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation)

• te: for you / of you
• te: Sambandha (Possessor/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी एकवचन (तव/‘to you’ contextually; here genitive ‘for you’)

• trikāla: the three times
• trikāla: Sambandha (Qualifier within compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तत्पुरुष समास (त्रयः कालाः) समासाङ्ग

• jñāna: knowledge
• jñāna: Sambandha (Qualifier within compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, समासाङ्ग

• kovida: O expert
• kovida: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kovida (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन एकवचन; विशेषणार्थे (address)

Speaker

Umā (Pārvatī)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śiva (Maheśvara)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Umā sits beside Śiva in a calm teaching posture; she raises a gentle question with folded hands; Śiva, serene and all-knowing, prepares to narrate ancient tīrtha history.

Characters & Entities

• Umā (Pārvatī)
• Śiva (addressed as Nātha)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma values humble inquiry: doubts are removed through respectful questioning of realized authority.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse introduces a Gaṅgā-māhātmya discussion within Kāśī Khaṇḍa, setting the stage for Kāśī–Gaṅgā sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is the opening of a teaching dialogue.