Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 67

Devanagari script

काशतेऽत्र यतो ज्योतिस्तदनाख्येयमीश्वरः । अतो नामापरं चास्तु काशीति प्रथितं विभो

Transliteration

kāśate'tra yato jyotistadanākhyeyamīśvaraḥ | ato nāmāparaṃ cāstu kāśīti prathitaṃ vibho

Translation

Weil hier ein unaussprechliches göttliches Licht erstrahlt, o Herr, darum werde auch ein anderer Name festgesetzt, berühmt als „Kāśī“, o Erhabener.

Word by Word

• काशते: shines, is luminous
• काशते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: काश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम् (singular)

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: here)

• यतः: because, since
• यतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यतस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; हेत्वर्थक-अव्यय (causal: because/for which reason)

• ज्योतिः: light, radiance
• ज्योतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्योतिस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (neuter), प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचनम् (singular)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshya (Correlative/तद्-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (neuter), प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचनम् (singular)

• अनाख्येयम्: indescribable, unnameable
• अनाख्येयम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनाख्येय (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √आ-ख्या (धातु) + अनीय/यत्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (neuter), प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचनम् (singular); विशेषणम् (adjective)

• ईश्वरः: the Lord
• ईश्वरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (masculine), प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचनम् (singular)

• अतः: therefore
• अतः: Hetu/Anvaya (Logical connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अतस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; तस्मात्-अर्थे (therefore/from this)

• नाम: name
• नाम: Karma/Predicate (Object/प्रत्ययार्थ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचनम् (singular)

• अपरम्: another, additional
• अपरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचनम् (singular); विशेषणम्

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction: and)

• अस्तु: let it be
• अस्तु: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/benedictive sense), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम् (singular)

• काशी: Kāśī
• काशी: Samjna/Predicate (Name/संज्ञा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (feminine), प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचनम् (singular)

• इति: thus, as
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; इत्यादि-उद्धरणार्थक (quotative particle)

• प्रथितम्: well-known, famed
• प्रथितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रथित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √प्रथ् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचनम् (singular); विशेषणम्

• विभो: O Lord, O mighty one
• विभो: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (masculine), संबोधन (8th case/vocative), एकवचनम् (singular)

Speaker

Viṣṇu (continuing from previous ‘śrī-viṣṇur uvāca’)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Primary interlocutor(s) of Kāśīkhaṇḍa (traditional frame: sages/Śaunaka lineage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous, formless Śiva-jyotis suffuses the skyline of Kāśī; ghāṭas and spires appear as silhouettes within a field of radiance, suggesting the city’s very name arising from light.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• jyotis (divine light)
• Śiva (addressed as Īśvara/Vibhu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is defined by spiritual illumination—divine light that transcends ordinary description.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) itself, characterized as the realm where divine light shines.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is mentioned; the verse provides a theological etymology for the name Kāśī.