Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

काथीं संकाक्षमाणानां पुरुषार्थचतुष्टयम् । पुरः किंकरवत्तिष्ठेन्ममानुग्रहतो द्विजाः

Transliteration

kāthīṃ saṃkākṣamāṇānāṃ puruṣārthacatuṣṭayam | puraḥ kiṃkaravattiṣṭhenmamānugrahato dvijāḥ

Translation

O Brahmanen, wer Kāśī inbrünstig begehrt, dem stehen die vier menschlichen Ziele—Dharma, Artha, Kāma und Mokṣa—wie Diener voran, durch meine Gnade.

Word by Word

• kāśīm: Kāśī
• kāśīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• saṃ-kākṣamāṇānām: of those who desire (it)
• saṃ-kākṣamāṇānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-kāṃkṣ (धातु) + śatṛ (कृत्)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; ‘...-ānām’ = ‘of those desiring’

• puruṣārtha-catuṣṭayam: the four aims of human life
• puruṣārtha-catuṣṭayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puruṣārtha (प्रातिपदिक) + catuṣṭaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पुरुषार्थानां चतुष्टयम्)

• puraḥ: in front
• puraḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Adverbial location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: puras (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) = ‘in front’

• kiṃkara-vat: like a servant
• kiṃkara-vat: Prakāra (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kiṃkara (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (तद्धित)
• Form: अव्यय (उपमानवाचक) ‘-वत्’ = ‘like a servant’

• tiṣṭhet: should stand, would remain
• tiṣṭhet: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• mama: of me, my
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• anugrahataḥ: due to (my) grace
• anugrahataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anugraha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) = ‘because of/through (grace)’

• dvijāḥ: O twice-born (Brahmins)
• dvijāḥ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सम्बोधनार्थे प्रयोगः (हे द्विजाः)

Speaker

Śiva (as Maheśāna), addressing brāhmaṇas

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dwijas/Brāhmaṇas

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee at Kāśī is greeted by four personified attendants—Dharma with a staff, Artha with a treasury, Kāma with a flower-bow subdued, Mokṣa with a lamp—standing before him by Śiva’s gesture of grace.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Puruṣārthas (dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa)
• Brāhmaṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sincere aspiration for Kāśī, supported by Śiva’s grace, harmonizes and fulfills the four aims of human life, culminating in mokṣa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), presented as a place whose very desire draws all puruṣārthas near.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the ‘prescription’ is heartfelt longing/commitment toward Kāśī under Śiva’s grace.