Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

अन्यानि मुक्तिक्षेत्राणि काशीप्राप्तिकराणि च । काशीं ध्यायमिमं श्रुत्वा नरो नियतमानसः । श्रावयित्वा द्विजांश्चापि श्रद्धाभक्तिसमन्वितान्

Transliteration

anyāni muktikṣetrāṇi kāśīprāptikarāṇi ca | kāśīṃ dhyāyamimaṃ śrutvā naro niyatamānasaḥ | śrāvayitvā dvijāṃścāpi śraddhābhaktisamanvitān

Translation

وسائرُ ميادينِ الخلاصِ المقدّسةِ تصبحُ أيضًا سببًا لبلوغِ كاشي. فالإنسانُ ذو الذهنِ المنضبط، المتأمّلُ في كاشي، إذا سمعَ هذا الخبرَ وأسمعَه كذلك للبراهمةِ المفعمينَ بالإيمانِ والبهاكتي، نالَ ثوابًا يقوده إلى كاشي وإلى التحرّر.

Word by Word

• anyāni: other
• anyāni: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Case 1/2), बहुवचन (Plural)

• mukti-kṣetrāṇi: liberation-fields (holy places granting liberation)
• mukti-kṣetrāṇi: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukti (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Case 1/2), बहुवचन (Plural)

• kāśī-prāpti-karāṇi: causing attainment of Kāśī
• kāśī-prāpti-karāṇi: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + prāpti (प्रातिपदिक) + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Case 1/2), बहुवचन (Plural)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• kāśīm: Kāśī
• kāśīm: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Case 2), एकवचन (Singular)

• dhyāya: meditate (you should meditate)
• dhyāya: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhyai (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• imam: this
• imam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Case 2), एकवचन (Singular)

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive)

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Case 1), एकवचन (Singular)

• niyata-mānasaḥ: with disciplined mind
• niyata-mānasaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: niyata (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + mānasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Case 1), एकवचन (Singular)

• śrāvayitvā: having caused (others) to hear / having recited to
• śrāvayitvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śru (धातु) [णिच् causative: śrāvayati]
• Form: णिच्-क्त्वान्त अव्यय (causative gerund)

• dvijān: Brahmins / twice-born
• dvijān: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Case 2), बहुवचन (Plural)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-भावक अव्यय (particle: also/even)

• śraddhā-bhakti-samanvitān: endowed with faith and devotion
• śraddhā-bhakti-samanvitān: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śraddhā (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakti (प्रातिपदिक) + samanvita (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Case 2), बहुवचन (Plural)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A disciplined devotee seated in meditation, visualizing Kāśī’s ghāṭas and Viśvanātha, while a reciter chants the Kāśī-māhātmya to an assembly of śraddhā-bhakti-yukta Brāhmaṇas; the ‘inner pilgrimage’ mirrors the outer city.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Dvija (twice-born)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

With faith, disciplined attention, and devotion, hearing and transmitting Kāśī’s māhātmya becomes a powerful means toward liberation-oriented merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is central; other mukti-kṣetras are praised insofar as they become conduits leading to Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa (hearing) and śrāvaṇa/pravacana (causing others—especially faithful dvijas—to hear/recite) of the Kāśī-māhātmya, along with meditation on Kāśī.