Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

अचेतनान्यपि तदा चेतनानीव संबभुः । यानि कानीह कीर्त्यंते मंगलानि घटोद्भव

Transliteration

acetanānyapi tadā cetanānīva saṃbabhuḥ | yāni kānīha kīrtyaṃte maṃgalāni ghaṭodbhava

Translation

那时，连无情之物也仿佛有了灵知；因为此处所称颂的一切吉祥瑞相都鲜明显现，噢“瓶生者”（Ghatoḍbhava）！

Word by Word

• अचेतनानि: inanimate (things)
• अचेतनानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अचेतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (Neuter, Nominative, Plural; adjective)

• अपि: even; also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: even/also)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• चेतनानि: sentient (things)
• चेतनानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चेतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (Neuter, Nominative, Plural; adjective)

• इव: as if; like
• इव: Sambandha (Comparison)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक अव्यय (comparative particle)

• सम्बभुः: became; appeared
• सम्बभुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद (Liṭ, 3rd person, plural; Parasmaipada)

• यानि: which (things)
• यानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक सर्वनाम (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Plural; relative pronoun)

• कानि: what (all)
• कानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; प्रश्न/अनिर्दिष्ट सर्वनाम (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Plural; interrogative/indefinite)

• इह: here
• इह: Desha (Place/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• कीर्त्यन्ते: are proclaimed; are described
• कीर्त्यन्ते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कीर्त् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद/कर्मणि प्रयोग (Present, 3rd person, plural; passive sense: are proclaimed)

• मङ्गलानि: auspicious things/omens
• मङ्गलानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मङ्गल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Plural)

• घट-उद्भव: O Pot-born (Agastya)
• घट-उद्भव: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: घट (प्रातिपदिक) + उद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; घटोद्भव = घटात् उद्भवः (Masculine, Vocative, Singular; born from a pot)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya (Ghaṭodbhava)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In Kāśī’s precincts, flags, lamps, pillars, and garlands seem to ‘wake’—as if eyes and breath have entered them—while auspicious emblems appear everywhere; the narrator addresses Agastya as ‘Pot-born’.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya (Ghaṭodbhava)
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In a fully sanctified environment, the divine pervades so completely that even inert matter seems alive with sacred meaning.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), where auspicious signs are said to manifest abundantly during the described celebration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse describes the spontaneous arising of maṅgalas (auspicious signs) in the sacred setting.