Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

नमो बुद्धिस्वरूपाय त्रिधाहंकृतये नमः । पंचतन्मात्र रूपाय पंचकर्मेद्रियात्मने

Transliteration

namo buddhisvarūpāya tridhāhaṃkṛtaye namaḥ | paṃcatanmātra rūpāya paṃcakarmedriyātmane

Translation

礼敬以觉慧（Buddhi）为自性的那一位；礼敬化为三重我执（Ahaṅkāra）的那一位。礼敬示现为五种微细境（tanmātra）、并为五作业根（karmendriya）之自我者。

Word by Word

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Sambandha/Discourse marker (सम्बन्ध/उपपद)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात), नमस्कारार्थक

• बुद्धि-स्वरूपाय: to (him) whose nature is intellect
• बुद्धि-स्वरूपाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बुद्धि (प्रातिपदिक) + स्वरूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (बुद्धेः स्वरूपम्)

• त्रिधा: in threefold manner
• त्रिधा: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: त्रिधा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण), प्रकारवाचक

• अहं-कृतये: to the maker/producer of ego (ahaṃkāra)
• अहं-कृतये: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + कृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अहंकारस्य कृतिः/अहंभावस्य कृतिः)

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Sambandha/Discourse marker (सम्बन्ध/उपपद)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात), नमस्कारार्थक

• पञ्च-तन्मात्र-रूपाय: to (him) whose form is the five tanmātras
• पञ्च-तन्मात्र-रूपाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + तन्मात्र (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (पञ्च तन्मात्राणि यस्य रूपम्/पञ्चतन्मात्रस्य रूपम्)

• पञ्च-कर्म-इन्द्रिय-आत्मने: to (him) whose essence is the five organs of action
• पञ्च-कर्म-इन्द्रिय-आत्मने: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + कर्मेन्द्रिय (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (पञ्च कर्मेन्द्रियाणि यस्य आत्मा/स्वरूपम्)

Speaker

Devas (gods), continuing the hymn

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-seeking sages (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A yogic visualization: the deity as an inner luminous presence seated in the heart-lotus, with symbolic emanations—buddhi as a clear lamp, ahaṅkāra as three colored rings, tanmātras as subtle glyphs, and five karmendriyas as hands performing sacred acts—set against Kāśī’s sanctified atmosphere.

Characters & Entities

• Buddhi
• Ahaṅkāra
• Tanmātras
• Karmendriyas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Divine is immanent in the inner faculties and the cosmos—intellect, ego, subtle elements, and the instruments of action.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the overarching sacred setting of the Kāśī-khaṇḍa, though this verse focuses on metaphysical praise rather than a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the implied practice is reverent recitation of the stuti.