Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

वर्षं कृत्वोपवासानि लभेदन्यत्र यद्व्रती । तत्फलं स्यात्त्रिरात्रेण काश्यामविकलं मुने

Transliteration

varṣaṃ kṛtvopavāsāni labhedanyatra yadvratī | tatphalaṃ syāttrirātreṇa kāśyāmavikalaṃ mune

Translation

O Weiser, welche Frucht ein Gelübdeübender anderswo durch Fasten während eines ganzen Jahres erlangt, diese unverminderte Frucht wird in Kāśī durch ein Fasten von nur drei Nächten gewonnen.

Word by Word

• varṣam: for a year
• varṣam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; कालावधि (duration)

• kṛtvā: having performed
• kṛtvā: Sambandha (Conjunctive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive): ‘having done’

• upavāsāni: fasts
• upavāsāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upavāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन

• labhet: would obtain
• labhet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: labh (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• anyatra: elsewhere
• anyatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anyatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देश/विषय-अव्यय (adverb: elsewhere)

• yat: which (result)
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; अन्वयः ‘यत् (फलम्)’

• vratī: a vow-observer
• vratī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vratin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• tat-phalam: that very fruit
• tat-phalam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारय: ‘तत् एव फलम्’

• syāt: would be
• syāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• trirātreṇa: by (just) three nights
• trirātreṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri-rātra (प्रातिपदिक; त्रि + रात्र)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास

• kāśyām: in Kāśī
• kāśyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• avikalam: undiminished/complete
• avikalam: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-vikala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; नञ्-समास/उपसर्ग: ‘विकल’ (deficient) → ‘अविकल’ (undiminished)

• mune: O sage
• mune: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (contextual attribution within Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogues)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: muni (addressed as ‘mune’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Three consecutive nights of fasting in Kāśī: devotees seated on ghāṭ steps with lamps, listening to Śiva-kathā, then offering at a liṅga shrine before dawn.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Vrata
• Upavāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The sanctity of Kāśī accelerates spiritual results: short observances there equal long austerities elsewhere.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), upheld as a place where dharma-practices bear swift, full fruit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Trirātra-upavāsa—fasting/observance for three nights while in Kāśī.