Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 96

Devanagari script

अपि कामातुरो जंतुरेकां रक्षति मातरम् । अपि पापकृता काशी रक्ष्या मोक्षार्थिनैकिका

Transliteration

api kāmāturo jaṃturekāṃ rakṣati mātaram | api pāpakṛtā kāśī rakṣyā mokṣārthinaikikā

Translation

حتى الكائنُ المعذَّبُ بالشهوة يحمي أمَّه الواحدة. وكذلك، وإن وُجدت خطايا، فإنّ كاشي وحدَها ينبغي أن تُصانَ على يد طالبِ الموكشا (التحرّر).

Word by Word

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (even)

• kāma-āturaḥ: afflicted by desire
• kāma-āturaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक) + ātura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (kāmena āturaḥ: afflicted by desire)

• jantuḥ: a creature; person
• jantuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jantu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ekām: one (single)
• ekām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (mātaram)

• rakṣati: protects
• rakṣati: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √rakṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• mātaram: mother
• mātaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (even/also)

• pāpa-kṛtā: sin-committing; sinful
• pāpa-kṛtā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛta (कृदन्त, √kṛ)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारयार्थे (pāpaṃ kṛtavatī) विशेषण (kāśī)

• kāśī: Kāśī
• kāśī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• rakṣyā: to be protected; worthy of protection
• rakṣyā: Vidheya (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √rakṣ (धातु) + ya (यत्/ण्यत् भावे; here future passive participle) → rakṣya (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (भविष्यत् कर्मणि/gerundive sense: 'to be protected'), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (kāśī)

• mokṣa-arthinā: by one who seeks liberation
• mokṣa-arthinā: Karana (Agent/Instrumental of agent/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + arthin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (mokṣasya arthī)

• ekikā: alone; exclusively
• ekikā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ekikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (kāśī)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A compassionate allegory: a desire-tormented being still shelters its mother; in parallel, a pilgrim-mumukṣu shelters Kāśī—seen as a maternal city—by acts of care, restraint, and reverence amid ghāṭs and temples.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Mokṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A mokṣa-seeker must actively preserve the sanctity of Kāśī, valuing it like one’s own mother.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as the singular place to be protected by those intent on liberation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is named; the prescription is protective conduct—upholding Kāśī’s sanctity.