Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

इदं सुश्रेयसो व्युष्टिः क्वामरेषु त्रिविष्टपे । यत्रत्येष्वपि तिर्यक्षु परमानंदवर्धिनी

Transliteration

idaṃ suśreyaso vyuṣṭiḥ kvāmareṣu triviṣṭape | yatratyeṣvapi tiryakṣu paramānaṃdavardhinī

Translation

Dies ist das Aufdämmern des höchsten Heils—wo wäre es unter den Göttern im Himmel zu finden?—denn hier wächst selbst unter den Tieren, die an diesem Ort wohnen, die höchste Seligkeit.

Word by Word

• idam: this
• idam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• suśreyasaḥ: of great welfare/auspiciousness
• suśreyasaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: suśreyas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• vyuṣṭiḥ: dawn; manifestation
• vyuṣṭiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyuṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• kva: where?
• kva: Sambandha (Context/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: 'where?')

• amareṣu: among the immortals (gods)
• amareṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: amara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन

• triviṣṭape: in heaven (Triviṣṭapa)
• triviṣṭape: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: triviṣṭapa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• yatratyeṣu: among those who are there (in that place)
• yatratyeṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yatratya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• api: even; also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कारक-अव्यय (particle: 'even/also')

• tiryakṣu: among animals (lower beings)
• tiryakṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tiryac (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन

• parama-ānanda-vardhinī: increasing supreme bliss
• parama-ānanda-vardhinī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक) + ānanda (प्रातिपदिक) + vardhinī (वर्ध् धातु, णिनि-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण; समासः (तत्पुरुष)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandavana / Avimukta-kṣetra (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-seeker interlocutor (traditional: sages/Śaunaka-style audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous Kāśī dawn: the ghāṭs and Viśveśvara-kṣetra glow; animals (cows, dogs, birds) rest peacefully amid pilgrims, suggesting that even the ‘tiryak’ share in the kṣetra’s bliss; distant Svarga is shown as comparatively pale.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• heaven (Triviṣṭapa)
• devas (amaras)
• animals (tiryak)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is presented as surpassing even heaven because it promotes the highest welfare (śreyas) and nurtures supreme bliss broadly, not selectively.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), implied as greater than Triviṣṭapa (svarga) in spiritual fruit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse focuses on Kāśī’s innate capacity to expand ānanda and śreyas.