Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

न तपोभिर्न वा दानैर्न यज्ञैर्बहुदक्षिणैः । अन्यत्र लभ्यते मोक्षो यथा काश्यां तनु व्ययात्

Transliteration

na tapobhirna vā dānairna yajñairbahudakṣiṇaiḥ | anyatra labhyate mokṣo yathā kāśyāṃ tanu vyayāt

Translation

Weder durch Askesen noch durch Gaben, noch durch Opfer mit reichen Dakṣiṇā wird anderswo Befreiung erlangt, wie sie in Kāśī erlangt wird—durch das bloße Vergehen des Leibes.

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निषेध

• tapobhiḥ: by austerities
• tapobhiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

• na: nor
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निषेध

• vā: or
• vā: Samuccaya/Vikalpa (Coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, विकल्पार्थक (disjunctive particle)

• dānaiḥ: by gifts/charity
• dānaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

• na: nor
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निषेध

• yajñaiḥ: by sacrifices
• yajñaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

• bahu-dakṣiṇaiḥ: with many sacrificial fees
• bahu-dakṣiṇaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of yajñaiḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + dakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘बह्वीः दक्षिणाः यस्य/येषु’ (with many fees/donations)

• anyatra: elsewhere
• anyatra: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Locative setting)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anyatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देश/अपवादवाचक (elsewhere/other than)

• labhyate: is obtained
• labhyate: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √labh (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive): ‘is obtained’

• mokṣaḥ: liberation
• mokṣaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• yathā: as
• yathā: Upamāna/Prakāra (Comparison)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, उपमान/प्रकारवाचक (as/just as)

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

• tanu: the body
• tanu: Karta (Subject of vyayāt)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• vyayāt: perishes/is spent away
• vyayāt: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vi-√i / √vyai (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; धात्वर्थः: व्यय/नाश (to perish/spend away)

Speaker

Narrative voice within the chapter (contextually Viṣṇu’s discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages / in-text recipient of Kāśī’s praise

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contrast tableau: on one side elaborate yajña with heaps of dakṣiṇā, on the other the simple Gaṅgā ghāṭ in Kāśī where a dying devotee attains liberation—Śiva’s unseen grace outweighing all ritual grandeur.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• mokṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s salvific power is presented as surpassing even major ritual and ascetic means, emphasizing the exceptional status of the mokṣa-kṣetra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as the uniquely effective place for liberation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas, dāna, and yajña are referenced comparatively (not prescribed), to highlight Kāśī’s superior mokṣa-bestowing potency.