Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 93

Devanagari script

स्वयं नियंता विश्वेशस्तत्र काश्यां तनुत्यजाम् । तत्रापि कृतपापानां नियंता कालभैरवः

Transliteration

svayaṃ niyaṃtā viśveśastatra kāśyāṃ tanutyajām | tatrāpi kṛtapāpānāṃ niyaṃtā kālabhairavaḥ

Translation

In Kāśī, Viśveśa (Lord Śiva) Himself is the supreme regulator of those who cast off the body there. Yet even there, for those who commit sins, Kālabhairava stands as the strict governor.

Word by Word

• svayam: by oneself; personally
• svayam: Sambandha (Adverbial modifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), स्वार्थे (reflexive/emphatic: 'oneself')

• niyaṃtā: controller; regulator
• niyaṃtā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ni-√yam (धातु) + tṛ (तृन् प्रत्यय) → niyaṃtṛ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्तृवाचक-नाम (agent noun: controller)

• viśveśaḥ: Lord of the universe
• viśveśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśva (प्रातिपदिक) + īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (viśvasya īśaḥ)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb: 'there')

• kāśyām: in Kāśī
• kāśyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• tanu-tyajām: of those who abandon the body (die)
• tanu-tyajām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanu (प्रातिपदिक) + tyaj (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्ताधार)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (tanūṃ tyajanti iti: 'body-leavers')

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• api: also; even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (particle: 'also/even')

• kṛta-pāpānām: of those who have committed sin
• kṛta-pāpānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛta (कृदन्त, √kṛ) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषार्थे (kṛtaṃ pāpaṃ yaiḥ te)

• niyaṃtā: controller
• niyaṃtā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ni-√yam (धातु) + tṛ (तृन् प्रत्यय) → niyaṃtṛ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• kāla-bhairavaḥ: Kālabhairava
• kāla-bhairavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + bhairava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (kālasya bhairavaḥ / kāla-bhairava as proper name)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Within the luminous lanes of Kāśī, Viśveśvara presides as the unseen regulator of those who die there; at the threshold stands Kālabhairava, stern and vigilant, holding the staff of discipline to restrain sin within the holy kṣetra.

Characters & Entities

• Viśveśa (Viśveśvara)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Kālabhairava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī grants exceptional grace, but it does not license wrongdoing; sin still meets divine regulation through Kālabhairava.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), especially under the lordship of Viśveśvara and the guardianship of Kālabhairava.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific ritual is prescribed here; the verse establishes the moral and spiritual governance of Kāśī.