Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

श्मशानानां च सर्वेषां श्मशानं परमं महत् । पीठानां परमं पीठमूषराणां महोषरम्

Transliteration

śmaśānānāṃ ca sarveṣāṃ śmaśānaṃ paramaṃ mahat | pīṭhānāṃ paramaṃ pīṭhamūṣarāṇāṃ mahoṣaram

Translation

بين جميع محارق الجثث، هذا هو الشَّمشَانَة (śmaśāna) الأعلى والأعظم؛ وبين جميع المقاعد المقدّسة (pīṭha)، هذا هو أسمى مقعد؛ وبين كل الأراضي القاحلة، هذه هي «القفر» العظيم الذي يتجاوزها جميعًا.

Word by Word

• श्मशानानाम्: of cremation grounds
• श्मशानानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्मशान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘of cremation grounds’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (and)

• सर्वेषाम्: of all
• सर्वेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive qualifier/षष्ठीविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक; षष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘of all’—विशेषणं ‘श्मशानानाम्’

• श्मशानम्: the cremation ground
• श्मशानम्: Karta (Predicate/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्मशान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र प्रथमा (predicate nominative)

• परमम्: supreme
• परमम्: Karta (Predicate qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘श्मशानम्’

• महत्: great
• महत्: Karta (Predicate qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘श्मशानम्’

• पीठानाम्: of sacred seats
• पीठानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पीठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘of seats/holy seats’

• परमम्: supreme
• परमम्: Karta (Predicate qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘पीठम्’

• पीठम्: seat, holy seat
• पीठम्: Karta (Predicate/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पीठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र प्रथमा (predicate nominative)

• ऊषराणाम्: of barren tracts
• ऊषराणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऊषर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘of barren lands/saline tracts’

• महोषरम्: the greatest barren tract
• महोषरम्: Karta (Predicate/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् + ऊषर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘great barren tract’ (as superlative among ūṣaras)

Speaker

Kumbhayoni (Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī) as supreme Śmaśāna/Pīṭha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Agastya continues: Kāśī shown as a luminous cremation ground—pyres at the riverbank, yet suffused with sacred light; a ‘pīṭha’ seat motif (lotus-throne/yantra) overlays the scene, expressing paradoxical auspiciousness.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya (Kumbhayoni)
• Avimukta (Kāśī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s holiness is portrayed through paradox: even ‘cremation ground’ imagery becomes a sign of liberation and transcendence under Śiva’s presence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Avimukta/Kāśī as the supreme sacred seat and the paradigmatic śmaśāna of Śaiva liberation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is a mahātmya-style exaltation of the place.