Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

सोमनंदी नंदिषेणः कालपिंगलकुक्कुटाः । तेद्यापि न निवर्तंते काश्यां जीवामृता यथा

Transliteration

somanaṃdī naṃdiṣeṇaḥ kālapiṃgalakukkuṭāḥ | tedyāpi na nivartaṃte kāśyāṃ jīvāmṛtā yathā

Translation

苏摩难迪、难提舍那与迦罗平伽罗·库库塔——这些伽那至今仍不离开迦尸，宛如活的甘露，永生不灭。

Word by Word

• somanandī: Somanandī (name)
• somanandī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: somanandī (प्रातिपदिक; नाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• nandiṣeṇaḥ: Nandiṣeṇa (name)
• nandiṣeṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nandiṣeṇa (प्रातिपदिक; नाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kāla-piṅgala-kukkuṭāḥ: black-and-tawny roosters
• kāla-piṅgala-kukkuṭāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + piṅgala (प्रातिपदिक) + kukkuṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः (कर्मधारय) ‘कालः पिङ्गलः (वर्णः) येषां ते कुक्कुटाः’

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• adya: today; even now
• adya: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb)

• api: even; also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावना/अपि-समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (particle: also/even)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation)

• nivartante: return; turn back
• nivartante: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vṛt (धातु) उपसर्ग-नि
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• kāśyām: in Kāśī
• kāśyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• jīvāmṛtāḥ: alive yet deathless
• jīvāmṛtāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jīva (प्रातिपदिक) + amṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः (कर्मधारय) ‘जीवाः (सन्तः) अमृताः इव’

• yathā: as; like
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparison/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानार्थक-अव्यय (comparative particle)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration-context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Three named gaṇas—Somanandī, Nandiṣeṇa, and Kālapīṅgala-Kukkuṭa—stand as timeless guardians within Kāśī, radiant and unaging, amid temple spires and ghats.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Somanandī
• Nandiṣeṇa
• Kālapīṅgala-Kukkuṭa
• gaṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is depicted as a realm of enduring sanctity where Śiva’s attendants abide, suggesting deathlessness through proximity to the sacred.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is directly glorified as the abiding place of Śiva’s gaṇas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is primarily a sthala-mahātmya statement about who remains present in Kāśī.