Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 98

Devanagari script

मुहुर्मुहुः प्रपश्यंती रहसि प्राणदेवताम् । विसस्मार स्वमपि च समाधिस्थेव योगिनी

Transliteration

muhurmuhuḥ prapaśyaṃtī rahasi prāṇadevatām | visasmāra svamapi ca samādhistheva yoginī

Translation

她一次又一次在幽静独处中观见那掌持其生命之息的神祇；乃至忘却自身，如同入于三摩地的瑜伽女。

Word by Word

• muhur-muhuḥ: again and again
• muhur-muhuḥ: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: muhuḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरुक्त-अव्यय (reduplicated adverb)

• prapaśyantī: seeing/beholding
• prapaśyantī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√paś (धातु √paś/√dṛś)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• rahasi: in secret
• rahasi: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: rahas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable) अर्थे ‘गुप्ते’ (in secret)

• prāṇa-devatām: the deity of (her) life-breath
• prāṇa-devatām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + devatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘prāṇānāṃ devatā’

• visasmāra: forgot
• visasmāra: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√smṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• svam: herself/one's own self
• svam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); आत्मवाचक (reflexive)

• api: also/even
• api: Discourse connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चय/अपि-भाव

• ca: and
• ca: Discourse connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• samādhi-sthā: absorbed in samādhi
• samādhi-sthā: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samādhi (प्रातिपदिक) + sthā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष: ‘samādhau sthā’ (standing/being in samādhi)

• iva: as if
• iva: Adverbial (upamā/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-वाचक-अव्यय (comparative particle)

• yoginī: the yoginī
• yoginī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yoginī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (typical frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In a secluded chamber, she repeatedly beholds her life’s deity and becomes motionless, eyes half-closed, as if in yogic samādhi; the world fades around her.

Characters & Entities

• Yoginī
• Prāṇa-devatā (beloved/deity-like figure)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Single-pointed contemplation can eclipse ego-awareness; devotion and yogic absorption are shown as parallel inner states.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The surrounding text belongs to Kāśī’s sanctity; this verse emphasizes inner experience rather than naming a site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; it illustrates meditative absorption (samādhi-like focus).