Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

देहत्यागोऽत्र वै योगः काश्यां निर्वाणसौख्यकृत् । प्राप्योत्तरवहां काश्यामतिदुष्कृतवानपि

Transliteration

dehatyāgo'tra vai yogaḥ kāśyāṃ nirvāṇasaukhyakṛt | prāpyottaravahāṃ kāśyāmatiduṣkṛtavānapi

Translation

Hier, wahrlich, ist das eigentliche „Yoga“ das Ablegen des Leibes; in Kāśī bewirkt es die Seligkeit des Nirvāṇa. Selbst wer von überaus schlimmen Taten belastet ist, wenn er Kāśī erreicht, wo die Gaṅgā nordwärts fließt…

Word by Word

• देह-त्यागः: abandonment of the body
• देह-त्यागः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक) + त्याग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masc., Nom., Sg.); देहस्य त्यागः

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

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक/उद्गार-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• योगः: yoga
• योगः: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masc., Nom., Sg.)

• काश्याम्: in Kāśī
• काश्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Fem., Loc., Sg.)

• निर्वाण-सौख्य-कृत्: producing the bliss of nirvāṇa
• निर्वाण-सौख्य-कृत्: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Qualifier of yogaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्वाण (प्रातिपदिक) + सौख्य (प्रातिपदिक) + कृत् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √कृ)
• Form: कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक (agentive), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masc., Nom., Sg.); निर्वाणस्य सौख्यं करोति

• प्राप्य: having reached/attained
• प्राप्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• उत्तर-वहाम्: Uttaravahā (the north-flowing stream/river)
• उत्तर-वहाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक) + वहा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Fem., Acc., Sg.); उत्तरवहा = उत्तरा वहा (नदी/धारा)

• काश्याम्: in Kāśī
• काश्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Fem., Loc., Sg.)

• अति-दुष्कृत-वान्: even one who has committed very great misdeeds
• अति-दुष्कृत-वान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + दुष्कृत (प्रातिपदिक) + वत् (तद्धित-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masc., Nom., Sg.); अतिदुष्कृतं यस्य

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अप्यर्थक-अव्यय (even)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Uttaravāhinī Gaṅgā in Kāśī (within Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya (Kumbhaja)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a Kāśī ghāṭa by the north-flowing Gaṅgā, a sinner-turned-pilgrim collapses in surrender; Śiva’s presence sanctifies the moment of deha-tyāga, and a luminous path opens toward nirvāṇa.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Dehatyāga
• Yoga
• Nirvāṇa
• Uttaravahā Gaṅgā (north-flowing Ganga)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is depicted as a supreme mokṣa-kṣetra where even the act of dying there becomes a direct means to nirvāṇa-bliss.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, with special allusion to the uttaravahā (north-flowing) Gaṅgā stretch associated with heightened sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal rite is prescribed; the verse frames dehatyāga in Kāśī itself as the decisive spiritual means.