Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

चित्रलेखनकर्मादि प्रासादे मेऽत्र कारयेत् । यः सचित्रान्महाभोगान्भुंक्ते मत्पुरतः स्थितः

Transliteration

citralekhanakarmādi prāsāde me'tra kārayet | yaḥ sacitrānmahābhogānbhuṃkte matpurataḥ sthitaḥ

Translation

凡在此我殿中令作绘画、装饰书写等诸工者，彼立于我前，得享宏大福乐，光彩庄严，丽饰具足。

Word by Word

• citra-lekhana-karma-ādi: work such as painting/drawing etc.
• citra-lekhana-karma-ādi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: citra (प्रातिपदिक) + lekhana (प्रातिपदिक) + karma (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-प्रधानः (चित्रलेखनं कर्म, तदादि)

• prāsāde: in the palace/temple-building
• prāsāde: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāsāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण

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

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक

• kārayet: should cause to be done / should commission
• kārayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धा॒तु)
• Form: णिच्-प्रयोजक (Causative/णिच्), विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधिलिङ्), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• sa-citrān: decorated/with pictures
• sa-citrān: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (अव्यय/उपसर्गसदृश) + citra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (सचित्र = चित्रयुक्त)

• mahā-bhogān: great enjoyments/luxuries
• mahā-bhogān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + bhoga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (महान्तः भोगाः)

• bhuṃkte: enjoys
• bhuṃkte: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhuj (धा॒तु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• mat-purataḥ: in front of me
• mat-purataḥ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mad (प्रातिपदिक) + purataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: पुरतः इति अव्यय (in front of) + षष्ठी-सम्बन्धः (मत्-); देशवाचक

• sthitaḥ: standing
• sthitaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthā (धा॒तु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; 'स्थित' = स्थितवान्/स्थितः

Speaker

Śiva (deduced from ‘me… mat-purataḥ’)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viśveśvara (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kāśī-māhātmya interlocutor(s)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Artisans paint auspicious motifs and script sacred inscriptions on the temple walls; the patron stands reverently before Viśveśvara as the newly adorned prāsāda gleams.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Viśveśvara
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Beautifying the temple as service to the Divine is itself worship, bringing elevated fortune and honored presence before Śiva.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, specifically the Lord’s prāsāda (temple) associated with Viśveśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Commissioning temple embellishments—painting, decorative inscriptions, and related works—as devotional service.