Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 68

Devanagari script

अन्यत्र यत्कृतं पापं तत्काश्यां परिणश्यति । वाराणस्यां कृतं पापमंतर्गेहे प्रणश्यति

Transliteration

anyatra yatkṛtaṃ pāpaṃ tatkāśyāṃ pariṇaśyati | vārāṇasyāṃ kṛtaṃ pāpamaṃtargehe praṇaśyati

Translation

Sünde, die anderswo begangen wurde, vergeht, wenn man nach Kāśī gelangt; doch Sünde, die in Vārāṇasī begangen wird, wird nur «im Innern des Hauses» getilgt, durch mühsame innere Läuterung.

Word by Word

• अन्यत्र: elsewhere
• अन्यत्र: Adhikarana (Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक/adverb of place)

• यत्: whatever (that which)
• यत्: Sambandha (Correlative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (सम्बन्धसूचक relative)

• कृतम्: done
• कृतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √कृ (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त ‘done’

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Sambandha (Correlative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (correlative)

• काश्याम्: in Kāśī
• काश्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• परिणश्यति: perishes / is destroyed
• परिणश्यति: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• वाराणस्याम्: in Vārāṇasī
• वाराणस्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाराणसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• कृतम्: done
• कृतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √कृ (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अन्तर्गेहे: inside the house
• अन्तर्गेहे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तर् + गेह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावः ‘अन्तः गेहे’

• प्रणश्यति: is destroyed
• प्रणश्यति: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī / Vārāṇasī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijāḥ / Kāśī audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contrast scene: a pilgrim arriving in Kāśī feels burdens lifted (dark aura dissolving at the city threshold), while another figure committing wrongdoing within the city is shown confined to ‘inner house’—symbolizing that expiation must occur through inner transformation and disciplined atonement.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Vārāṇasī
• Pāpa
• Karma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī purifies pilgrims, yet it also demands higher accountability: wrongdoing within the sacred city is not to be taken lightly.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī/Vārāṇasī itself, praised for pāpa-nāśa while warning about conduct within the kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse functions as a moral-ritual warning: seek purification in Kāśī, but avoid sin within Vārāṇasī and correct oneself inwardly.