Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

सदैवाकुशलं तेषां ये त्वत्क्षेत्रपराङ्मुखाः । चतुर्दशापि वै लोकास्तेषां नित्यं पराङ्मुखाः

Transliteration

sadaivākuśalaṃ teṣāṃ ye tvatkṣetraparāṅmukhāḥ | caturdaśāpi vai lokāsteṣāṃ nityaṃ parāṅmukhāḥ

Translation

Stets trifft Unheil jene, die sich von Deinem heiligen Kṣetra (Kāśī) abwenden. Ja, selbst die vierzehn Welten bleiben ihnen immerdar abgewandt und gewähren ihnen keinen günstigen Beistand.

Word by Word

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverb of time)

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)

• अकुशलम्: misfortune; inauspiciousness
• अकुशलम्: Karma/Predicate nominal (फल/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अकुशल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (Nom./Acc. sg.); भाववाचक (state of ill-being)

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी बहुवचन (Gen. pl.); सर्वनाम

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन (Nom. pl.); सम्बन्धबोधक यत्-शब्द

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha/Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषार्थक निपात (particle: but/indeed)

• त्वत्-क्षेत्र-पराङ्मुखाः: turned away from your holy region
• त्वत्-क्षेत्र-पराङ्मुखाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival predicate/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्वत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + पराङ्मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन (Nom. pl.); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (त्वत्क्षेत्रस्य पराङ्मुखाः = turned away from your sacred field)

• चतुर्दश: fourteen
• चतुर्दश: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्दश (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; अव्ययवत् समासान्त-प्रातिपदिक (numeral compound)

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपि-अर्थक निपात (also/even)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक निपात (indeed, certainly)

• लोकाः: worlds
• लोकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन (Nom. pl.)

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी बहुवचन (Gen. pl.)

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव/क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण; नपुंसक एकवचन प्रथमा/द्वितीया (used adverbially: always)

• पराङ्मुखाः: turned away
• पराङ्मुखाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पराङ्मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन (Nom. pl.)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee turns away from the luminous city of Kāśī; the fourteen worlds (stacked cosmic planes) appear as distant, averted faces, while Kāśī shines with Viśveśvara’s aura.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Kṣetra
• Caturdaśa-loka (fourteen worlds)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverence for Kāśī-kṣetra is presented as spiritually protective; aversion to it is said to invite persistent inauspiciousness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī-kṣetra (Vārāṇasī), Śiva’s famed sacred field in the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the verse emphasizes inner orientation—being favorably disposed toward Kāśī-kṣetra.