Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 110

Devanagari script

जय श्मशाननिलय जय वाराणसीप्रिय । जयानंदवनाध्यासि प्राणिनिर्वाणदायक

Transliteration

jaya śmaśānanilaya jaya vārāṇasīpriya | jayānaṃdavanādhyāsi prāṇinirvāṇadāyaka

Translation

Sieg dir, Bewohner des Verbrennungsplatzes! Sieg dir, Geliebter von Vārāṇasī! Sieg dir, Verweilender in Ānandavana—Spender der Befreiung für alle Lebewesen!

Word by Word

• जय: hail!
• जय: Sambodhana (Vocative address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: जय (अव्यय/सम्बोधन-निपात)
• Form: जय-शब्दः स्तुत्यर्थे निपातवत् (interjection: victory/hail)

• श्मशाननिलय: O dweller in the cremation-ground
• श्मशाननिलय: Sambodhana (Addressed/सम्बोधित)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्मशान + निलय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; ‘श्मशाने निलयः’ (dweller in cremation-ground)

• जय: hail!
• जय: Sambodhana (Vocative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: जय (अव्यय/सम्बोधन-निपात)
• Form: स्तुत्यर्थ-निपात (hail)

• वाराणसीप्रिय: O lover of Vārāṇasī
• वाराणसीप्रिय: Sambodhana (Addressed/सम्बोधित)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाराणसी + प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; ‘वाराणसी प्रियः यस्य’

• जय: hail!
• जय: Sambodhana (Vocative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: जय (अव्यय/सम्बोधन-निपात)
• Form: स्तुत्यर्थ-निपात (hail)

• आनन्दवनाध्यासि: O resident of Ānandavana
• आनन्दवनाध्यासि: Sambodhana (Addressed/सम्बोधित)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आनन्दवन + अध्यासिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; ‘आनन्दवने अध्यासि/अध्यासी’ = निवासकर्ता (resident of Ānandavana)

• प्राणिनिर्वाणदायक: O giver of liberation to beings
• प्राणिनिर्वाणदायक: Sambodhana (Addressed/सम्बोधित)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राणि + निर्वाण + दायक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; ‘प्राणिनां निर्वाणं ददाति’ (giver of liberation to beings)

Speaker

Devotees (stuti within Skanda’s narration; deduced hymn addressed to Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandavana (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A hymn of victory addressed to Śiva: backdrop of Kāśī’s cremation-ground and Ānandavana; Śiva as compassionate yet awe-inspiring lord, with devotees raising hands in stuti near a ghāṭa/śmaśāna edge.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
• Ānandavana
• Śmaśāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s Lord grants liberation; remembering and praising him as the resident of Ānandavana leads the mind toward mokṣa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī (Kāśī), especially Ānandavana—celebrated as Śiva’s abiding sacred grove.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Stuti (hymnic praise) of Śiva by invoking his Kāśī epithets and liberation-bestowing nature.