Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

गणावूचतुः । इमां गंधवतीं पुण्यां पुरीं वायोर्विलोकय । वारुण्या उत्तरे भागे महाभाग्यनिधे द्विज

Transliteration

gaṇāvūcatuḥ | imāṃ gaṃdhavatīṃ puṇyāṃ purīṃ vāyorvilokaya | vāruṇyā uttare bhāge mahābhāgyanidhe dvija

Translation

众伽那说道：“婆罗门啊，福德宝藏者，请观此芬芳清净之城，乃风神伐由之城；在瓦鲁尼之北方，可得瞻礼。”

Word by Word

• gaṇāḥ: the attendants (Gaṇas)
• gaṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• ūcatuḥ: said (the two said)
• ūcatuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, द्विवचन

• imām: this
• imām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• gandha-vatīm: fragrant
• gandha-vatīm: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gandha (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (प्रत्यय; मतुप्/वतुप्-अर्थे)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषण (possessive: ‘having fragrance’)

• puṇyām: holy
• puṇyām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषण

• purīm: city
• purīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• vāyoḥ: of Vāyu
• vāyoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• vilokaya: behold/see
• vilokaya: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√lok (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन

• vāruṇyāḥ: of Vāruṇī
• vāruṇyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāruṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• uttare: in the northern
• uttare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; विशेषण (locative: ‘in the northern’)

• bhāge: part/region
• bhāge: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• mahā-bhāgya-nidhe: O treasure of great fortune
• mahā-bhāgya-nidhe: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāgya (प्रातिपदिक) + nidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (mahābhāgyasya nidhiḥ)

• dvija: O twice-born (brāhmaṇa)
• dvija: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

Speaker

Gaṇas (Śiva’s attendants) (explicit)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vāruṇī (uttara-bhāga) within Kāśī; ‘Vāyoḥ purī’ epithet

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Primary listener of Kāśī-kathā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva’s gaṇas point out a fragrant, luminous Kāśī quarter to a brāhmaṇa: northern Vāruṇī with airy banners, incense-laden streets, and distant ghāṭas; the city appears as a divine mandala.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṇas
• Vāyu
• Vāruṇī
• Kāśī (implicit frame)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is revealed as divinely guided: holy zones within Kāśī are identified and praised as power-centers connected to cosmic deities like Vāyu.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Vāyu-associated sacred area leading into the Pavaneśvara māhātmya, located in the northern part of the Vāruṇī zone in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal rite is stated; the instruction is darśana—“behold/visit” the holy place.