Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

को वरो भवता देयो धर्मेश परिचारिणाम् । साधुसंसर्गसंक्षीण जन्मांतरमहैनसाम्

Transliteration

ko varo bhavatā deyo dharmeśa paricāriṇām | sādhusaṃsargasaṃkṣīṇa janmāṃtaramahainasām

Translation

„Welche Gabe sollst du gewähren, o Herr des Dharma, deinen Dienern—deren große, über viele Geburten angesammelte Sünden durch den Umgang mit den Heiligen aufgezehrt worden sind?“

Word by Word

• कः: what/which
• कः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• वरः: boon
• वरः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• भवता: by you
• भवता: Karana (Agent/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; ‘by you’

• देयः: to be given
• देयः: Kriya (Predicate necessity/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √दा (धातु) + यत् (कृदन्त)
• Form: यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (gerundive/future passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; ‘to be given’

• धर्मेश: O lord of dharma
• धर्मेश: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘lord of dharma’

• परिचारिणाम्: of the attendants
• परिचारिणाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परि-√चर् (धातु) + णिनि (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; ‘of attendants/servants’

• साधुसंसर्गसंक्षीण: purified/diminished (in sin) by good company
• साधुसंसर्गसंक्षीण: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: साधु (प्रातिपदिक) + संसर्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + संक्षीण (प्रातिपदिक; √क्षि + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘(one) whose (sins) are diminished by association with the good’ (परिचारिणाम् इति विशेषणम्)

• जन्मान्तर: another birth
• जन्मान्तर: Visheshya (Qualified noun/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘another birth’

• महैनसाम्: of great sinners / of great sins
• महैनसाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक) + एनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘great sins’ (महद्-एनसः)

Speaker

Śiva (continuing address; rhetorical framing of boon-giving)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The sage addressed (mune); within the scene, the question is posed to Śiva (Dharmēśa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A formal boon-request moment: attendants/devotees stand before Śiva, palms joined; the text’s idea of sins worn away by sādhu-saṅga is shown as dark veils dissolving into light around them.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Dharmeśa)
• Sādhus (holy ones)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Association with saints (sādhu-saṅga) purifies even long-standing karmic faults, making one fit for divine blessings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse operates within Kāśī’s māhātmya, where holy company and Śiva’s accessibility are repeatedly praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the implied discipline is seeking sādhu-saṅga as a purifying spiritual practice.