Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

जगुर्गंधर्वनिकरा ननृतुश्चाप्सरोगणाः

Transliteration

jagurgaṃdharvanikarā nanṛtuścāpsarogaṇāḥ

Translation

众甘达婆齐声歌咏，诸天女阿普萨拉斯成群起舞。

Word by Word

• जगुः: sang
• जगुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गै (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/परिपूर्ण), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद — Perfect, 3rd person, Plural

• गन्धर्वनिकराः: groups of Gandharvas
• गन्धर्वनिकराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्धर्व + निकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Plural; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (गन्धर्वाणां निकराः)

• ननृतुः: danced
• ननृतुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नृत् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/परिपूर्ण), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद — Perfect, 3rd person, Plural

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय — conjunction

• अप्सरोगणाः: troops of Apsarases
• अप्सरोगणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप्सरस् + गण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Plural; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अप्सरसां गणाः)

Speaker

Narrator (Skanda, contextually)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandavana / Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A celestial chorus fills the air: Gandharvas singing in mid-sky while Apsarases dance in graceful circles above the sacred grove of Kāśī.

Characters & Entities

• Gandharvas
• Apsarases

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Celestial music and dance signify that sacred events in Kāśī are affirmed by the divine realms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting remains Kāśī’s Ānandavana, where divine joy is depicted as manifest and palpable.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual instruction appears; the verse functions as an auspicious narrative marker.