Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

तत्रापि नववर्षाणि भारतं तत्र चोत्तमम् । कर्मभूमिरियं प्रोक्ता देवानामपिदुर्लभा

Transliteration

tatrāpi navavarṣāṇi bhārataṃ tatra cottamam | karmabhūmiriyaṃ proktā devānāmapidurlabhā

Translation

Auch dort (in Jambūdvīpa) gibt es neun Regionen; unter ihnen ist Bhārata die vorzüglichste. Dieses Land wird als karma-bhūmi verkündet, als Feld des Handelns, schwer zu erlangen selbst für die Götter.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adverbial (देश/स्थान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha/Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: also/even)

• नव-वर्षाणि: nine regions/years (varṣas)
• नव-वर्षाणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नव (प्रातिपदिक) + वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc. 1st/2nd), बहुवचन (Plural); द्विगु-समासः (संख्यापूर्वकः)

• भारतं: Bhārata (India)
• भारतं: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc. 1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adverbial (देश/स्थान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• च: and
• च: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय (conjunction)

• उत्तमम्: the best/supreme
• उत्तमम्: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc. 1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (adjective) भारतम् इति

• कर्म-भूमिः: land of action (ritual/karma)
• कर्म-भूमिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कर्मणः भूमिः)

• इयम्: this
• इयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• प्रोक्ता: is said/called
• प्रोक्ता: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + वच् (धातु) → प्रोक्त (क्त/कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘प्रोक्त’; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगार्थः (said/called)

• देवानाम्: of the gods
• देवानाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha/Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: even/also)

• दुर्लभा: hard to obtain
• दुर्लभा: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्लभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (adjective) कर्मभूमिः/इयम् इति

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhārata-varṣa (as overarching karma-bhūmi)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic tableau: Bhārata-varṣa depicted as a sacred land where humans perform yajña, dāna, and pilgrimage, while devas look on with longing, indicating its rarity.

Characters & Entities

• Bhārata
• Jambūdvīpa
• Devas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human life in Bhārata is prized because it enables deliberate dharmic action leading to liberation—an opportunity even devas may not easily gain.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Bhārata-varṣa itself is praised as the sacred arena for dharma and sādhana; specific tīrthas are introduced later in the passage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; the verse declares the theological status of Bhārata as karma-bhūmi.