Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

यदहं प्राप्तवानस्मि पुरीं वाराणसीं शुभाम् । मयाप्यतीव दुष्प्राप्यां स प्रसादो स्य वै शिशोः

Transliteration

yadahaṃ prāptavānasmi purīṃ vārāṇasīṃ śubhām | mayāpyatīva duṣprāpyāṃ sa prasādo sya vai śiśoḥ

Translation

Dass ich die glückverheißende Stadt Vārāṇasī erreicht habe—so überaus schwer zu erlangen selbst für mich—das ist wahrlich die Gnade jenes Kindes, Gaṇeśa.

Word by Word

• yat: that which
• yat: Karman (Object of 'prāptavān')
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद्) (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — सम्बन्धसूचक (correlative)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद्) (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम; प्रथमा, एकवचन

• prāptavān: having obtained
• prāptavān: Karta-anvaya (Predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-āp (धातु)
• Form: क्तवतु-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Perfect participle active); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — 'having obtained'

• asmi: am
• asmi: Kriya (Auxiliary/copula)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद; उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन — 'am'

• purīm: city
• purīm: Karman (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purī (पुरी) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन

• vārāṇasīm: Vārāṇasī
• vārāṇasīm: Karman (Apposition to purīm)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārāṇasī (वाराणसी) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन (पुरीम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषण-रूपेण)

• śubhām: auspicious
• śubhām: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (शुभ) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन — 'auspicious' (purīm/vārāṇasīm qualifies)

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद्) (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम; तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन — 'by me'

• api: even/also
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अपि)
• Form: निपात (particle) — 'also/even'

• atīva: exceedingly
• atīva: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atīva (अतीव)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) — 'very, exceedingly'

• duṣprāpyām: hard to obtain
• duṣprāpyām: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dus- (दुस्) + prāpya (प्राप्य) < pra-āp (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (यत्/ण्यत्-प्रत्ययार्थे प्राप्य 'obtainable'); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन — 'hard to obtain' (purīm qualifies)

• saḥ: that
• saḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्) (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — 'that'

• prasādaḥ: grace
• prasādaḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative with syāt)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prasāda (प्रसाद) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — 'grace/favor'

• syāt: may be
• syāt: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — 'may be/would be'

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (वै)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• śiśoḥ: of the child
• śiśoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiśu (शिशु) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, एकवचन — 'of the child/son'

Speaker

Śiva (Vṛṣabhadhvaja)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/assembly (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva, having arrived in Kāśī, openly declares before the gods that his attainment of the city is due to the grace of the divine Child Gaṇeśa.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
• Gaṇeśa (as Śiśu/Child)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Access to Kāśī is presented as a rare spiritual fortune granted by divine grace, especially through Gaṇeśa’s favor.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī/Kāśī—the supreme sacred city celebrated throughout the Kāśī Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse emphasizes grace (prasāda) as the cause of attaining Kāśī.