Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

अनादिः शरणः शांतः परः षड्विंशसंमितः । सर्वज्ञः सर्वयोगीशः सर्वभूतैकनायकः

Transliteration

anādiḥ śaraṇaḥ śāṃtaḥ paraḥ ṣaḍviṃśasaṃmitaḥ | sarvajñaḥ sarvayogīśaḥ sarvabhūtaikanāyakaḥ

Translation

هو بلا بداية، ملجأٌ، ساكنٌ، الأسمى—متجاوزٌ لستةٍ وعشرين مبدأً؛ عليمٌ بكل شيء، ربُّ جميع اليوغيين، القائدُ الواحدُ لكل الكائنات.

Word by Word

• anādiḥ: beginningless
• anādiḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anādi (प्रातिपदिक; an- + ādi)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• śaraṇaḥ: refuge
• śaraṇaḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• śāntaḥ: peaceful
• śāntaḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śānta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √śam (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) ‘pacified/peaceful’

• paraḥ: supreme
• paraḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• ṣaḍviṃśasaṃmitaḥ: consisting of twenty-six (principles)
• ṣaḍviṃśasaṃmitaḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣaḍviṃśa + saṃmita (प्रातिपदिक; ṣaṭ-viṃśa + saṃmita)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (संख्यया संमितः = ‘measured as twenty-six/consisting of twenty-six’)

• sarvajñaḥ: omniscient
• sarvajñaḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva + jña (प्रातिपदिक; sarva + jña)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (सर्वं जानाति = ‘all-knowing’)

• sarvayogīśaḥ: lord of all yogins
• sarvayogīśaḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva + yogīśa (प्रातिपदिक; sarva + yogin + īśa)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (योगिनां ईशः = ‘lord of all yogins’)

• sarvabhūtaikanāyakaḥ: the sole leader of all beings
• sarvabhūtaikanāyakaḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarvabhūta + eka + nāyaka (प्रातिपदिक; sarva-bhūta + eka + nāyaka)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (सर्वभूतानां एकः नायकः = ‘sole leader of all beings’)

Speaker

Hari (Viṣṇu) (continuing stuti)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contemplative tableau: the Supreme depicted as serene, beginningless refuge—either as a luminous formless presence (jyoti) or as a calm yogeśvara form, with subtle cosmic diagram motifs (tattvas dissolving into light).

Characters & Entities

• Supreme Lord (addressed deity in context: Bhairava/Mahākāla)
• Yogins
• Bhūtas (beings)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Supreme is both transcendent (beyond categories) and immanent (ruling all beings), approachable as refuge and realized through yoga.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī’s sacred stature is implied by associating its divine figure with the highest metaphysical status.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse emphasizes contemplative recognition of the Supreme as refuge and Lord of yoga.