Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

वयमप्येवं जानीमो यत्र स्वर्गतरंगिणी । आनंदकानने शंर्भोमोक्षस्तत्रैव निश्चितम्

Transliteration

vayamapyevaṃ jānīmo yatra svargataraṃgiṇī | ānaṃdakānane śaṃrbhomokṣastatraiva niścitam

Translation

Auch wir wissen: So ist es—wo der himmlische Strom dahinfließt; im Ānandakānana, o Śambhu, ist allein dort Mokṣa gewiss, ohne jeden Zweifel.

Word by Word

• वयम्: we
• वयम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: सर्वनाम, बहुवचनम्, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative plural)

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपातः/समुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम् (particle: also/even)

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb: thus/in this way)

• जानीमः: we know
• जानीमः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), उत्तम-पुरुषः (1st person), बहुवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (relative adverb: where)

• स्वर्गतरंगिणी: the heaven-flowing river (Gaṅgā)
• स्वर्गतरंगिणी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर्ग + तरंगिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्, एकवचनम्, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (svargasya taraṃgiṇī)

• आनन्दकानने: in the grove of bliss
• आनन्दकानने: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आनन्द + कानन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम्, एकवचनम्, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ānandasya kānane)

• शम्भो: O Śambhu
• शम्भो: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शम्भु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम्, एकवचनम्, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः (Vocative singular)

• मोक्षः: liberation
• मोक्षः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम्, एकवचनम्, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative singular)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb: there)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपातः (particle: indeed/only)

• निश्चितम्: certain/decided
• निश्चितम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि + चि (धातु) → निश्चित (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्तम् (PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्गम्, एकवचनम्, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः; विधेय-विशेषणम् (predicative)

Speaker

Deductively: attendants/denizens speaking to Śiva (Śambhu) within Skanda–Agastya narrative frame (Kāśīkhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandakānana (Kāśī) / Gaṅgā (Svargataraṅgiṇī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred vision of Kāśī’s Ānandakānana beside the Gaṅgā: Śambhu’s presence felt as a luminous liṅga/Viśveśvara aura, pilgrims on ghats, the river depicted as ‘svargataraṅgiṇī’ with celestial sheen; the speaker asserts mokṣa-certainty.

Characters & Entities

• Śambhu (Śiva)
• Svargataraṅgiṇī (Gaṅgā)
• Ānandakānana (Ānandavana/Kāśī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī (Ānandavana) is proclaimed as a uniquely assured place of mokṣa under Śiva’s lordship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ānandakānana/Ānandavana—Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), associated with the Gaṅgā as the ‘heavenly river’.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse emphasizes the inherent salvific greatness (māhātmya) of the place.