Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

येन बीजाक्षरयुगं काशीति हृदि धारितम् । अबीजानि भवंत्येव कर्मबीजानि तस्य वै

Transliteration

yena bījākṣarayugaṃ kāśīti hṛdi dhāritam | abījāni bhavaṃtyeva karmabījāni tasya vai

Translation

Wer das Samen-Silbenpaar «Kāśī» im Herzen trägt, dessen Karma-Samen werden samenlos—unfähig, noch zu sprießen.

Word by Word

• येन: by which
• येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• बीजाक्षरयुगम्: the pair of seed-syllables
• बीजाक्षरयुगम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बीज (प्रातिपदिक) + अक्षर (प्रातिपदिक) + युग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (बीजानि अक्षराणि = बीजाक्षराणि; तेषां युगम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• काशी: ‘Kāśī’
• काशी: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; मन्त्रपद

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation/इति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरणार्थक-अव्यय

• हृदि: in the heart
• हृदि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हृद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• धारितम्: held/retained
• धारितम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धृ (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• अबीजानि: seedless
• अबीजानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ (नञ्) + बीज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नञ्-तत्पुरुष (अबीजानि = बीजरहितानि); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• भवन्ति: become
• भवन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• कर्मबीजानि: seeds of karma
• कर्मबीजानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + बीज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: कर्मणः बीजानि); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• तस्य: of him/of that person
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-bīja (Kā-Śī) hṛdaya-dhāraṇā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Spiritual aspirants within the dialogue frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A meditating devotee with a luminous lotus at the heart; within it the syllables ‘Kā-Śī’ shine like seed-letters; around, withered sprouts symbolize karmic seeds rendered sterile.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Bīja (seed-syllable)
• Karma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Internalizing the Kāśī mantra is said to neutralize karmic causality at its root by destroying the ‘seed’ capacity of karma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), via its name treated as a potent bīja-mantra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Hṛd-dhāraṇa (holding in the heart) and japa/constant remembrance of the ‘Kāśī’ seed-syllables.