Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

स्कंद उवाच । आकर्णय क्षोणिसुर यथा स्थाणुरचीकरत् । गंगावरणयोः पुण्यात्संभेदात्तीर्थभूमिकाम्

Transliteration

skaṃda uvāca | ākarṇaya kṣoṇisura yathā sthāṇuracīkarat | gaṃgāvaraṇayoḥ puṇyātsaṃbhedāttīrthabhūmikām

Translation

Skanda nói: Hỡi bậc thần thánh trên cõi đất (hỡi đức vua), hãy lắng nghe—Sthāṇu (Śiva) đã thiết lập nền đất thánh của một tīrtha như thế nào, phát sinh từ cuộc hội tụ cát tường của Gaṅgā và Varuṇā.

Word by Word

• skaṃdaḥ: Skanda
• skaṃdaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: skaṃda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• ākarṇaya: listen
• ākarṇaya: Kriya (Command/आज्ञा)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + karṇ (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; अर्थः—शृणु (listen)

• kṣoṇisura: O king (earthly god)
• kṣoṇisura: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣoṇi + sura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (क्षोण्यां सुरः = earthly god, i.e., king)

• yathā: how/as
• yathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/प्रकारवाचक (as/how)

• sthāṇuḥ: Sthāṇu (Śiva)
• sthāṇuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthāṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• acīkarat: caused to be made/established
• acīkarat: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु, णिच् causative)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिच् (causative)

• gaṃgāvaraṇayoḥ: of Gaṅgā and Varaṇa
• gaṃgāvaraṇayoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṃgā + varaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग+नपुंसकलिङ्ग (समाहार-द्वन्द्व), षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), द्विवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्व (गङ्गा च वरणं च)

• puṇyāt: from the sacred (merit)
• puṇyāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन

• saṃbhedāt: from the confluence/meeting
• saṃbhedāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃbheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन

• tīrthabhūmikām: the tīrtha-region/holy ground
• tīrthabhūmikām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha + bhūmikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (तीर्थस्य भूमिकाम् = the ground/region of a tīrtha)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā–Varuṇā Saṅgama

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (addressed as kṣoṇisura)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Skanda narrates to a king: the two rivers meet; Śiva (Sthāṇu) stands at the saṅgama and consecrates the ground, marking it as a tīrtha with divine presence and subtle radiance over the waters.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Śiva (Sthāṇu)
• Gaṅgā
• Varuṇā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrthas are not merely locations but sanctified spaces established by divine will; confluences (saṅgamas) are especially potent in Purāṇic dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The confluence of the Gaṅgā and the Varuṇā in the Kāśī region is introduced as a foundational tīrtha-setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite here; it begins the account of how the tīrtha-ground came to be established.