Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

रागबीजसमुद्भूतः संसारविटपो महान् । दीर्घस्वाप कुठारेण च्छिन्नः काश्यां न वर्धते

Transliteration

rāgabījasamudbhūtaḥ saṃsāraviṭapo mahān | dīrghasvāpa kuṭhāreṇa cchinnaḥ kāśyāṃ na vardhate

Translation

إن شجرة السَّمْسارا العظيمة، النابتة من بذرة التعلّق (راغا)، إذا قُطِعت بفأس السُّبات الروحي الطويل، فإنها لا تنمو من جديد في كاشي.

Word by Word

• रागबीजसमुद्भूतः: arisen from the seed of passion
• रागबीजसमुद्भूतः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: राग (प्रातिपदिक) + बीज (प्रातिपदिक) + समुद्भूत (सम्+उद्+भू धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘समुद्भूत’; समासः (रागबीजयोः/रागबीजात् समुद्भूतः)

• संसारविटपः: the tree of saṃsāra
• संसारविटपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संसार (प्रातिपदिक) + विटप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (saṃsārasya viṭapaḥ)

• महान्: great
• महान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

• दीर्घस्वापकुठारेण: by the axe of long sleep
• दीर्घस्वापकुठारेण: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दीर्घ (प्रातिपदिक) + स्वाप (प्रातिपदिक) + कुठार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (दीर्घस्वापस्य कुठारः)

• च्छिन्नः: cut down
• च्छिन्नः: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: छिद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘cut’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• काश्याम्: in Kāśī
• काश्याम्: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• वर्धते: grows
• वर्धते: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृध् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast saṃsāra-tree with tangled branches labeled ‘birth, death, desire’; a yogin in Kāśī wields an axe named ‘dīrgha-svāpa’ (deep spiritual sleep/absorption), felling it; the stump lies on Kāśī’s sacred ground where no shoots emerge.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Rāga (attachment)
• Saṃsāra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Attachment fuels rebirth, but Kāśī is praised as the place where the roots of saṃsāra are cut and do not return.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, depicted as the field where saṃsāra’s growth is permanently checked.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse teaches inner detachment and the unique liberating power of Kāśī.