Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 47

Devanagari script

समतीतविमुक्तजंतुसंख्या क्रियते यत्र जनैः सुखोपविष्टैः । विलसद्द्युति सूक्ष्मशर्कराभिः स्ववपुःपातमहोत्सवाभिलाषैः

Transliteration

samatītavimuktajaṃtusaṃkhyā kriyate yatra janaiḥ sukhopaviṣṭaiḥ | vilasaddyuti sūkṣmaśarkarābhiḥ svavapuḥpātamahotsavābhilāṣaiḥ

Translation

Dort, während die Menschen behaglich sitzen, wird gleichsam die Zahl der bereits Befreiten verzeichnet: winzige, hell schimmernde Körnchen zählen sie, und doch verlangen sie nach dem großen Fest des „Ablegens des eigenen Leibes“ — dem Sterben in Kāśī.

Word by Word

• समतीतविमुक्तजन्तुसंख्या: the count of beings who have passed on and been liberated
• समतीतविमुक्तजन्तुसंख्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समतीत+विमुक्त+जन्तु+संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (समतीतानां विमुक्तानां जन्तूनां संख्या)

• क्रियते: is done/made
• क्रियते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धबोधक (where)

• जनैः: by people
• जनैः: Kartr (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• सुखोपविष्टैः: comfortably seated
• सुखोपविष्टैः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुख+उपविष्ट (कृदन्त; उप+विश्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त); तत्पुरुषः (सुखेन उपविष्टाः)

• विलसत्: shining, gleaming
• विलसत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विलस् (धातु) → विलसत् (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• द्युतिः: splendour, radiance
• द्युतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्युति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सूक्ष्मशर्कराभिः: with fine grains (sugar/sand-like)
• सूक्ष्मशर्कराभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूक्ष्म+शर्करा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (सूक्ष्माः शर्कराः)

• स्ववपुःपातमहोत्सवाभिलाषैः: with desires for the great festival of casting off one’s own body
• स्ववपुःपातमहोत्सवाभिलाषैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व+वपुस्+पात+महोत्सव+अभिलाष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (स्वस्य वपुषः पातस्य महोत्सवस्य अभिलाषाः)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration, typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Muni (unnamed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims sit calmly on the ghāṭa; tiny sparkling grains (like luminous sand/sugar) metaphorically ‘count’ liberated beings; the cremation fires glow as a festival of release rather than grief.

Characters & Entities

• Maṇikarṇikā (context implied)
• Kāśī (implied)
• Mokṣa (liberation)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse celebrates Kāśī as a kṣetra where even death is reimagined as a sacred ‘festival’ because it is linked with liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate context is the Maṇikarṇikā area of Kāśī, famed for liberation and final rites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription is given, but the verse alludes to the sanctity of deha-tyāga in Kāśī and the broader funerary context associated with Maṇikarṇikā.