Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

नामापि गृह्णतां काश्याः सदैवास्त्वेनसः क्षयः

Transliteration

nāmāpi gṛhṇatāṃ kāśyāḥ sadaivāstvenasaḥ kṣayaḥ

Translation

For those who even merely utter or remember the name of Kāśī, may there always be the destruction of sin.

Word by Word

• nāma: name
• nāma: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (नामन् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

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

• gṛhṇatām: (of those) who take/utter
• gṛhṇatām: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: grah (ग्रह् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद; (वर्तमानकाले ‘they take/utter’)

• kāśyāḥ: of Kāśī
• kāśyāḥ: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (काशी प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kala-adhikarana (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (always)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (indeed/only)

• astu: may there be
• astu: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/benedictive), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• enasaḥ: of sin
• enasaḥ: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: enas (एनस् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• kṣayaḥ: destruction/cessation
• kṣayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaya (क्षय प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (as nāma and kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: General devotees/pilgrims; traditional ṛṣi audience frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee softly chanting ‘Kāśī’ with prayer beads; the syllables appear as luminous script dissolving dark stains (enas) around the heart; faint outline of Kāśī ghāṭas in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Nāma (holy name)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The sanctity of Kāśī operates even through remembrance: taking Kāśī’s name is itself a purifier leading to pāpa-kṣaya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in general—its very name is praised as purificatory.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Nāma-grahaṇa (uttering/remembering the sacred name of Kāśī) as a simple, accessible purificatory practice.