Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 88

Devanagari script

कलावत्युवाच । नाथ प्रजासृजापूर्वं सृष्टा नानाविधाः प्रजाः । प्रजाहिताय संसृष्टं पुरुषार्थचतुष्टयम्

Transliteration

kalāvatyuvāca | nātha prajāsṛjāpūrvaṃ sṛṣṭā nānāvidhāḥ prajāḥ | prajāhitāya saṃsṛṣṭaṃ puruṣārthacatuṣṭayam

Translation

Kalāvatī thưa: “Bạch Nātha, thuở ban sơ của tạo hóa, để sinh thành muôn dân, các loài hữu tình được tạo ra muôn dạng. Và vì lợi ích của chúng sinh, bốn mục đích của đời người cũng được thiết lập: dharma, artha, kāma và mokṣa.”

Word by Word

• kalāvatī: Kalāvatī
• kalāvatī: Karta (speaker)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalāvatī (प्रातिपदिक; नाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• nātha: O lord
• nātha: Sambodhana (address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nātha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8), एकवचन

• prajāsṛjā: by the creation of creatures
• prajāsṛjā: Karana (instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā + sṛj (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक-समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (prajānāṃ sṛjā = by the creator/act of creating beings)

• pūrvam: formerly, first
• pūrvam: Kāla (time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrva (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: formerly/first)

• sṛṣṭāḥ: created
• sṛṣṭāḥ: Visheshana (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √sṛj (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; ‘created’ (prajāḥ-विशेषण)

• nānāvidhāḥ: of various kinds
• nānāvidhāḥ: Visheshana (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nānā + vidha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (nānāḥ vidhāḥ)

• prajāḥ: creatures, subjects
• prajāḥ: Karta (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• prajāhitāya: for the welfare of the subjects
• prajāhitāya: Sampradana (purpose/beneficiary)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā + hita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (prajānāṃ hitāya)

• saṃsṛṣṭam: was composed/arranged
• saṃsṛṣṭam: Kriya-viseshana / Predicate adjective
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃ-√sṛj (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; ‘combined/constituted’

• puruṣārthacatuṣṭayam: the four aims of human life
• puruṣārthacatuṣṭayam: Karma / Visheshya (thing constituted)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puruṣārtha + catuṣṭaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (puruṣārthānāṃ catuṣṭayam)

Speaker

Kalāvatī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kalāvatī instructs the king, with a subtle cosmic tableau behind—creation imagery (beings emerging, four symbolic pillars labeled dharma/artha/kāma/mokṣa) blending court and cosmos.

Characters & Entities

• Kalāvatī
• Puruṣārtha (Dharma, Artha, Kāma, Mokṣa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human life is purposeful: it is structured around four aims, with dharma guiding artha and kāma, and mokṣa as the highest fulfillment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is doctrinal; in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa context it supports the later turn toward liberation associated with Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; it lays the philosophical framework of the four aims.