Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 78

Devanagari script

इति श्रीस्कांदे महापुराण एकाशीतिसाहस्र्यां संहितायां चतुर्थे काशीखंड उत्तरार्धे धर्मेशमहिमाख्यानं नामाष्टसप्ततितमोऽध्यायः

Transliteration

iti śrīskāṃde mahāpurāṇa ekāśītisāhasryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ caturthe kāśīkhaṃḍa uttarārdhe dharmeśamahimākhyānaṃ nāmāṣṭasaptatitamo'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

至此，于神圣《室建陀摩诃往世书》八万一千颂之集、第四部之《迦尸篇》（后半）中，名为《法自在（Dharmeśa）威德记》的第二十八章圆满结束。

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Vākyopasaṃhāra (Closure marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इत्यादि-समाप्तिसूचक (quotative/end marker)

• śrī-skāṃde: in the Śrī Skanda (Purāṇa)
• śrī-skāṃde: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī (प्रातिपदिक) + skānda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय समास; पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन (locative: in the revered Skanda-)

• mahāpurāṇe: in the Mahāpurāṇa
• mahāpurāṇe: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + purāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• ekāśīti-sāhasryām: in the eighty-one-thousand (verses)
• ekāśīti-sāhasryām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ekāśīti (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + sāhasrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन; विशेषणम् (in the eighty-one-thousand [collection])

• saṃhitāyām: in the Saṃhitā
• saṃhitāyām: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃhitā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• caturthe: in the fourth
• caturthe: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: caturtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन; क्रमवाचक विशेषणम् (in the fourth)

• kāśī-khaṇḍe: in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa
• kāśī-khaṇḍe: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + khaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• uttarārdhe: in the latter half
• uttarārdhe: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक) + ardha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष समास; पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• dharmeśa-mahimā-ākhyānam: the account of Dharmeśa’s glory
• dharmeśa-mahimā-ākhyānam: Karta (Title/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharmeśa (प्रातिपदिक) + mahimā (प्रातिपदिक) + ākhyāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन; शीर्षकवाचक (the narrative of the glory of Dharmeśa)

• nāma: named
• nāma: Saṃjñā-sūcaka (Naming marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāma (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नामशब्दः (particle: named/called)

• aṣṭa-saptatitamaḥ: seventy-eighth
• aṣṭa-saptatitamaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭa (संख्या) + saptati (संख्या) + tama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु/संख्यासमास; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन; क्रमवाचक (seventy-eighth)

• adhyāyaḥ: chapter
• adhyāyaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhyāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन

Speaker

Colophon (editorial/narrative closure)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmeśa (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Reciters/readers of the Skanda Purāṇa

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Manuscript-style closing rubric: the chapter title ‘Dharmeśa-mahimākhyāna’ and its placement within Skanda Purāṇa’s Kāśī-khaṇḍa are ceremonially affirmed.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda Purāṇa
• Kāśī Khaṇḍa
• Dharmeśa (Dharmeśvara)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It functions as a textual seal, marking the completion of the Dharmeśa-mahimā narrative within Kāśī’s sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī Khaṇḍa as a whole—especially the Dharmeśa/Dharmeśvara greatness narrative situated in Vārāṇasī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; this is a colophon providing chapter and compilation identifiers.