Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

काशीश्मशाननिलयां देवदानवदर्पहाम् । ददासि यदि मे वीर दुर्लभां प्राणदक्षिणाम्

Transliteration

kāśīśmaśānanilayāṃ devadānavadarpahām | dadāsi yadi me vīra durlabhāṃ prāṇadakṣiṇām

Translation

O Held, wenn du mir die seltene Gabe des Lebens (prāṇadakṣiṇā) gewährst—(werde ich in) Kāśī weilen, deren Wohnstatt der Verbrennungsplatz ist, die den Hochmut von Göttern und Dämonen beugt.

Word by Word

• काशीश्मशाननिलयाम्: the abode of Kāśī’s cremation-ground (i.e., Kāśī as cremation-ground abode)
• काशीश्मशाननिलयाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक) + श्मशान (प्रातिपदिक) + निलय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (काश्याः श्मशानस्य निलयः)

• देवदानवदर्पहाम्: destroyer of the pride of gods and demons
• देवदानवदर्पहाम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + दानव (प्रातिपदिक) + दर्प (प्रातिपदिक) + ह (√हन् धातु, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम्; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (देवदानवानां दर्पं हन्ति इति)

• ददासि: you give
• ददासि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दा (दाने)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Condition marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; शर्तार्थक-समुच्चय/निपात (conditional particle)

• मे: of me / my
• मे: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• वीर: O hero
• वीर: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• दुर्लभाम्: rare, hard to obtain
• दुर्लभाम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्लभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• प्राणदक्षिणाम्: life as the sacrificial fee (life-offering)
• प्राणदक्षिणाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण (प्रातिपदिक) + दक्षिणा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (प्राणाः एव दक्षिणा)

Speaker

Mahājihvā (continuing her plea) to the vīra/hero (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A supplicant speaks to a sword-bearing hero, requesting the ‘rare gift of life’ and invoking Kāśī as a cremation-ground abode that crushes celestial and demonic arrogance; the aura is liminal—between life, death, and liberation.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Life itself is the greatest ‘dakṣiṇā’; granting mercy transforms fear into dharma, and Kāśī is praised as a place that subdues worldly pride.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), described as intimately linked with the śmaśāna and renunciation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, dāna/dakṣiṇā is evoked—here framed as the ‘gift of life’ rather than a material offering.