Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 90

Devanagari script

पुरा यमस्तपस्तप्त्वा बहुकालं सुदुष्करम् । त्रैलोक्याधिकृतिं प्राप्तस्त्यक्त्वा वाराणसीं पुरीम्

Transliteration

purā yamastapastaptvā bahukālaṃ suduṣkaram | trailokyādhikṛtiṃ prāptastyaktvā vārāṇasīṃ purīm

Translation

In uralter Zeit übte Yama lange und äußerst schwere Askese (tapas). Als er die Herrschaft über die drei Welten erlangt hatte, zog er fort und ließ die Stadt Vārāṇasī beiseite.

Word by Word

• purā: formerly
• purā: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal adverb: formerly)

• yamaḥ: Yama
• yamaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन

• taptvā: having practiced
• taptvā: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tap (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वक्रिया (having performed)

• bahu-kālam: for a long time
• bahu-kālam: Kala (Duration/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; कालविशेषण-समासः (a long time)

• su-duṣkaram: very difficult
• su-duṣkaram: Visheshana (Qualifier of tapaḥ/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + duṣkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘अतिदुष्करम्’ (very difficult)

• trailokya-adhikṛtim: authority over the three worlds
• trailokya-adhikṛtim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (संख्या) + loka (प्रातिपदिक) + adhikṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘त्रैलोक्यस्य अधिकृतिः’ (authority over the three worlds)

• prāptaḥ: obtained
• prāptaḥ: Kriya (Participial predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + āp (धातु)
• Form: क्त-कृदन्त (past participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘(यमः) प्राप्तः’ = obtained

• tyaktvā: having abandoned
• tyaktvā: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tyaj (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वक्रिया (having abandoned)

• vārāṇasīm: Vārāṇasī
• vārāṇasīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārāṇasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन

• purīm: the city
• purīm: Karma (Appositional object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘वाराणसीं पुरीम्’ समानाधिकरणम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vārāṇasī/Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇa interlocutor (implied from surrounding verses)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yama performing fierce tapas in a desolate setting, then receiving triloka authority; yet a luminous boundary around Kāśī remains untouched, indicating his respectful withdrawal from the city’s sphere.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Vārāṇasī
• Trailokya (three worlds)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even Yama’s cosmic authority has a boundary: Vārāṇasī is treated as a special divine jurisdiction linked to liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī (Kāśī), implied to be outside or exceptional to Yama’s ordinary reach.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; the verse sets up theological context about Yama and Kāśī’s exceptional status.