Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

काशीप्राप्तिरयं योगःकाथीप्राप्तिरिदं तपः । काशीप्राप्तिरिदं दानं काशीप्राप्तिः शिवैकता

Transliteration

kāśīprāptirayaṃ yogaḥkāthīprāptiridaṃ tapaḥ | kāśīprāptiridaṃ dānaṃ kāśīprāptiḥ śivaikatā

Translation

Dieser Yoga führt zur Erlangung von Kāśī; diese Askese führt zur Erlangung von Kāśī; diese Gabe führt zur Erlangung von Kāśī — und die Vereinigung mit Śiva ist selbst die Erlangung von Kāśī.

Word by Word

• काशी-प्राप्तिः: attainment of Kāśī
• काशी-प्राप्तिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + prāpti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (काश्याः प्राप्तिः/काशीं प्राप्तिः), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘attainment of Kāśī’

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Visheshana (Determiner/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun ‘this’

• योगः: yoga
• योगः: Karta (Predicate nominative/प्रथमा-समाना)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yoga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘yoga’

• काशी-प्राप्तिः: attainment of Kāśī
• काशी-प्राप्तिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + prāpti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Visheshana (Determiner/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun ‘this’

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karta (Predicate nominative/प्रथमा-समाना)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘austerity’

• काशी-प्राप्तिः: attainment of Kāśī
• काशी-प्राप्तिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + prāpti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Visheshana (Determiner/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘this’

• दानम्: charity
• दानम्: Karta (Predicate nominative/प्रथमा-समाना)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘gift/charity’

• काशी-प्राप्तिः: attainment of Kāśī
• काशी-प्राप्तिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + prāpti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• शिव-एकता: oneness with Śiva
• शिव-एकता: Karta (Predicate nominative/प्रथमा-समाना)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + ekatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (शिवे एकता/शिवस्य एकता), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘oneness with Śiva’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Four streams—yoga, tapas, dāna, and devotion—flow into a single luminous center: Śiva as Viśveśvara; Kāśī appears both as city on Gaṅgā and as a radiant heart-lotus within the devotee.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Śiva
• Vārāṇasī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

All authentic disciplines culminate in Kāśī’s grace, whose deepest meaning is Śiva-realization (śivaikatā).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is explicitly glorified as both a sacred destination and a spiritual state tied to Śiva.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Yoga, tapas (austerity), and dāna (charity) are affirmed as means leading to Kāśī; the culminating prescription is śivaikatā—abiding in oneness with Śiva.