Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

तानि क्षणात्समुत्क्षिप्य काशीसंस्थोऽमृतोभवेत् । तस्यां वेदांतवेद्यस्य निदिध्यासनतो विना

Transliteration

tāni kṣaṇātsamutkṣipya kāśīsaṃstho'mṛtobhavet | tasyāṃ vedāṃtavedyasya nididhyāsanato vinā

Translation

Casting those (karmic burdens) away in an instant, one who abides in Kāśī becomes deathless. There, even without deep contemplative absorption (nididhyāsana) upon the One known through Vedānta…

Word by Word

• तानि: those (things)
• तानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Pl.)

• क्षणात्: from/within a moment
• क्षणात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masc., Abl., Sg.)

• समुत्क्षिप्य: having lifted up/removed
• समुत्क्षिप्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial to main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+उत्+क्षिप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having lifted up)

• काशी-संस्थः: one residing in Kāśī
• काशी-संस्थः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक) + संस्थ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √स्था)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masc., Nom., Sg.); काशी-स्थः = काश्याम् स्थितः

• अमृतः: immortal
• अमृतः: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masc., Nom., Sg.)

• भवेत्: would become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (3rd, Sg.)

• तस्याम्: in that (Kāśī)
• तस्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Fem., Loc., Sg.)

• वेदान्त-वेद्यस्य: of the knowable through Vedānta
• वेदान्त-वेद्यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वेदान्त (प्रातिपदिक) + वेद्य (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √विद्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masc., Gen., Sg.); वेदान्तेन वेद्यः

• निदिध्यासनतः: from meditation (nididhyāsana)
• निदिध्यासनतः: Apadana (Source/absence basis)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निदिध्यासन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (प्रयोगे), पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Abl., Sg.)

• विना: without
• विना: Sambandha (Exclusion/without)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विना (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय/उपपद (preposition-like indeclinable)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya (Kumbhaja)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim in Kāśī is shown shedding dark, weighty karmic bonds that dissolve instantly in the radiance of Avimukteśvara; distant ghāṭas and the Gaṅgā shimmer as a symbol of deathlessness.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Vedānta
• Nididhyāsana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is portrayed as so liberative that karmic burdens are cast off swiftly, and liberation is accessible even without the hardest contemplative disciplines.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī as a liberating kṣetra (not a single tank/ghāṭ), emphasizing the fruit of residing there.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific ritual; a spiritual principle is taught—abiding in Kāśī itself is presented as transformative.