Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

यस्मिन्न्यस्ते महाभारे आवां स्वः स्वैरचारिणौ । निर्वाणश्राणनं कुर्वः केवलं काशिशायिनाम्

Transliteration

yasminnyaste mahābhāre āvāṃ svaḥ svairacāriṇau | nirvāṇaśrāṇanaṃ kurvaḥ kevalaṃ kāśiśāyinām

Translation

When that great burden was set aside, we two moved freely in our own heaven, granting the gift of liberation only to those who dwell in Kāśī.

Word by Word

• yasmin: in which
• yasmin: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी, एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• nyaste: when (it) was placed/laid down
• nyaste: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-√as (धातु) + nyasta (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle); सप्तमी, एकवचन; लोके सति (locative absolute sense)

• mahābhāre: in the great burden (great weight)
• mahābhāre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahābhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी, एकवचन; समासः—महान् भारः (karmadhāraya)

• āvām: we two
• āvām: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम; प्रथमा, द्विवचन

• svaḥ: our own
• svaḥ: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, द्विवचन (Vedic/epic variant for svau); आत्मीयवाचक (possessive)

• svairacāriṇau: moving freely / acting at will (both of us)
• svairacāriṇau: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svaira (प्रातिपदिक) + cārin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, द्विवचन; समासः—स्वैरं चरति (tatpuruṣa)

• nirvāṇaśrāṇanam: the bestowal/dispensing of liberation
• nirvāṇaśrāṇanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nirvāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + śrāṇana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—निर्वाणस्य श्राणनम् (genitive tatpuruṣa)

• kurvaḥ: we two do / perform
• kurvaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपद; उत्तमपुरुष, द्विवचन

• kevalam: only
• kevalam: Sambandha (Adverbial qualifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kevala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावेन प्रयोगः; अव्ययवत् (used adverbially)

• kāśiśāyinām: of those who dwell in Kāśī
• kāśiśāyinām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + śāyin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, बहुवचन; समासः—काश्यां शयितः (locative tatpuruṣa)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta/Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: After cosmic burdens are set down, Śiva and Śakti roam freely in their celestial domain, yet their gaze and grace are fixed upon Kāśī’s residents; a luminous thread connects heaven to the ghats, signifying mokṣa bestowed upon the city’s dwellers.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Śiva-Śakti (implied ‘we two’)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is portrayed as uniquely empowered: residence in Kāśī is singled out as a direct condition for receiving liberation’s grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī/Avimukta as a whole, celebrated as the special domain where liberation is bestowed.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse stresses the merit of ‘Kāśī-śayana’—dwelling in Kāśī.