Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

तद्भक्त्या परमैश्वर्यं मया लब्धं वरात्ततः । इदानीं स्तुहि तं शंभुं यदि मे शुभमिच्छसि

Transliteration

tadbhaktyā paramaiśvaryaṃ mayā labdhaṃ varāttataḥ | idānīṃ stuhi taṃ śaṃbhuṃ yadi me śubhamicchasi

Translation

“凭对他的虔敬，我因其赐福而得至高主权。如今若你愿求吉祥——为我亦为你自己——就当赞颂那位商婆（Śambhu）。”

Word by Word

• tadbhaktyā: by devotion to him
• tadbhaktyā: Karana (Instrument/Cause/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad + bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष — ‘by devotion to him’

• paramaiśvaryam: supreme sovereignty
• paramaiśvaryam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parama + aiśvarya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; कर्मधारय — ‘supreme lordship/prosperity’

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Agent-in-passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया एकवचन — ‘by me’

• labdham: obtained
• labdham: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √labh (लभ् ‘प्राप्तौ’ धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त — ‘obtained’ (कर्मणि)

• varāt: from a boon
• varāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी एकवचन — ‘from a boon’

• tataḥ: thereafter/therefrom
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘thereafter/therefrom’

• idānīm: now
• idānīm: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: idānīm (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) — ‘now’

• stuhi: praise
• stuhi: Kriya (Imperative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √stu (स्तु ‘स्तुतौ’ धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — ‘praise!’

• tam: him
• tam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन — ‘him’

• śaṃbhum: Śambhu (Śiva)
• śaṃbhum: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃbhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन — ‘Śambhu’

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (शर्त/सम्बन्धबोधक) — ‘if’

• me: for me
• me: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी एकवचन; अत्र चतुर्थी — ‘for me/to me’

• śubham: good, auspiciousness
• śubham: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन — ‘good/auspicious thing’

• icchasi: you desire
• icchasi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √iṣ (इष्/इच्छ् ‘इच्छायाम्’ धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — ‘you desire’

Speaker

Viṣṇu

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viśveśvara (Śambhu) in Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages/seekers in the frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Viṣṇu urges Vyāsa to praise Śambhu for auspiciousness; Vyāsa turns toward a liṅga or Viśveśvara shrine with folded hands, beginning a hymn.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Śambhu (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Auspiciousness and true authority arise from bhakti; the proper response to divine supremacy is stuti (praise) and humility.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Within Kāśī’s framework, praising Śambhu aligns with the city’s identity as Śiva’s supreme kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Stuti (hymnic praise) of Śambhu is directly prescribed.