Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

इदं तव प्रियं क्षेत्रं कर्मबीजमहौषधम् । नैःश्रेयस्याः श्रियो गेहं ममापि प्रीतिदं महत्

Transliteration

idaṃ tava priyaṃ kṣetraṃ karmabījamahauṣadham | naiḥśreyasyāḥ śriyo gehaṃ mamāpi prītidaṃ mahat

Translation

هذه بقعتُكَ المقدّسةُ المحبوبة، دواءٌ سامٍ لبذرةِ الكارما؛ وهي دارُ بهاءِ النَيْحْشْرَيَسَا (النعيم الأقصى). ولي أنا أيضًا تمنحُ فرحًا عظيمًا.

Word by Word

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — nominative/accusative singular

• तव: your
• तव: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन — genitive singular

• प्रियम्: dear/beloved
• प्रियम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — nominative/accusative singular (agreeing with क्षेत्रम्)

• क्षेत्रम्: sacred region/field
• क्षेत्रम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — nominative/accusative singular

• कर्म: action/karma
• कर्म: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; (समासपूर्वपद)

• बीज: seed
• बीज: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बीज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; (समासमध्यपद)

• महत्: great
• महत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; (समासमध्यपद)

• औषधम्: great medicine (remedy)
• औषधम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: औषध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — nominative/accusative singular; कर्म+बीज+महत्+औषध = बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (great medicine which is the seed of karma)

• नैःश्रेयस्याः: of ultimate liberation/bliss
• नैःश्रेयस्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नैःश्रेयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन — genitive singular (of final beatitude)

• श्रियो: of prosperity/fortune
• श्रियो: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन — genitive singular (Vedic/poetic form)

• गेहम्: house/abode
• गेहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गेह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — nominative/accusative singular

• मम: my
• मम: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन — genitive singular

• अपि: also
• अपि: Samuccaya (Addition/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अप्यर्थ (also/even)

• प्रीतिदम्: delight-giving
• प्रीतिदम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रीति (प्रातिपदिक) + द (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √दा/दद्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — nominative/accusative singular; उपपद-तत्पुरुष ('giving delight')

• महत्: great
• महत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — nominative/accusative singular (agreeing with इदम्/क्षेत्रम्)

Speaker

Devī (Pārvatī/Jagadambikā)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Muni/sages; within embedded dialogue Devī speaks to Śiva

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī gestures toward the luminous city-kṣetra of Kāśī as a radiant ‘home of liberation’; symbolic depiction of karmic seeds being healed—dark sprouts dissolving into light near the sacred space.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Śiva
• Kṣetra (implied: Kāśī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A supremely sacred kṣetra is portrayed as curing karmic bondage and supporting the highest good—naiḥśreyasa (liberation).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śiva’s beloved kṣetra—contextually Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) and its associated liṅgas and tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse is laudatory, implying pilgrimage and devotion to the kṣetra as a means to karmic purification.