Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

एतत्सृजामि पाम्यद्मि त्वल्लीलाप्रेरितोंगने । कुतो मां हातुमिच्छेस्त्वं मम वामार्धधारिणि

Transliteration

etatsṛjāmi pāmyadmi tvallīlāpreritoṃgane | kuto māṃ hātumicchestvaṃ mama vāmārdhadhāriṇi

Translation

我创造此界，我护持此界，我亦摄受而吞没——噢爱侣——皆为你神圣之戏（līlā）所驱使。你既安住为我左半之身，又怎会想离我而去？

Word by Word

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• sṛjāmi: I create/emit
• sṛjāmi: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sṛj (सृज् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• pāmi: I drink
• pāmi: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pā (पा धातु, पिबति-अर्थे)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• admi: I eat
• admi: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ad (अद् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tvat-līlā-preritaḥ: impelled by your play
• tvat-līlā-preritaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक) + līlā (प्रातिपदिक) + prerita (प्रातिपदिक; √īr/√prer)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (त्वल्लीलया प्रेरितः)

• aṅgane: O lady
• aṅgane: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṅganā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन/सप्तमी एकवचन; here used as vocative संबोधन (O fair lady)

• kutaḥ: why/from where
• kutaḥ: Hetu/Prashna (Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kutaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्न-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक; त्रिलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• hātum: to abandon
• hātum: Prayojana (Purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √hā (हा धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), अव्यय; ‘to abandon’

• icchasi: you wish
• icchasi: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √iṣ (इष्/इच्छ् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक; त्रिलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• mama: of me/my
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक; षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• vāma-ardha-dhāriṇi: O bearer of my left half
• vāma-ardha-dhāriṇi: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāma (प्रातिपदिक) + ardha (प्रातिपदिक) + dhāriṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (वामं अर्धं धारयन्ती)

Speaker

Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrim-audience / interlocutor in Kāśī-khaṇḍa frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva speaks as cosmic lord yet lover, declaring he creates, protects, and dissolves under Śakti’s līlā; he questions how she could leave when she is his left half—evoking Ardhanārīśvara symbolism.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Devī
• Ardhanārīśvara (concept)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Creation, preservation, and dissolution occur through the inseparable unity of Śiva and Śakti.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśī Khaṇḍa context frames Kāśī as the sacred land where the Ardhanārīśvara truth is contemplated.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a metaphysical affirmation supporting Śiva–Śakti worship and contemplation.