Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 74

Devanagari script

नैषा पुरी संसृतिरूपपारावारस्य पारं पुरहा पुरारिः । यस्यां परं पौरुषमर्थमिच्छन्सिद्धिं नयेत्पौरपरंपरांसः

Transliteration

naiṣā purī saṃsṛtirūpapārāvārasya pāraṃ purahā purāriḥ | yasyāṃ paraṃ pauruṣamarthamicchansiddhiṃ nayetpauraparaṃparāṃsaḥ

Translation

This city is not merely a town, but the far shore of the ocean that is saṃsāra—revealed by the Slayer of the Tripura-forts, the Enemy of the demon Pura. In it, one who seeks the highest aim of human life is led to perfection (siddhi), even down through the very lineages of its residents.

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध)

• eṣā: this
• eṣā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; निर्देश (demonstrative)

• purī: city
• purī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• saṃsṛti-rūpa-pārāvārasya: of the ocean in the form of saṃsāra
• saṃsṛti-rūpa-pārāvārasya: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsṛti (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक) + pārāvāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (संसृतिरूपः पारावारः यस्य); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• pāram: the far shore
• pāram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• purahā: the destroyer of the cities (Śiva)
• purahā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purahā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; शिवस्य नाम

• purāriḥ: enemy of the cities (Śiva)
• purāriḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purāri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; शिवस्य नाम

• yasyām: in which (city)
• yasyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative)

• param: supreme
• param: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; (pauruṣam artham इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• pauruṣam: manly/heroic (highest human)
• pauruṣam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pauruṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; (artham इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• artham: goal/meaning
• artham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• icchan: desiring
• icchan: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: iṣ (धातु) + śatṛ (शतृ)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (अन्तर्निहितः कर्ता)

• siddhim: success/perfection
• siddhim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: siddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• nayet: would lead (to)
• nayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nī (धातु) + लोट्/विधिलिङ्
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/संभावना), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• paura-paraṃparā-aṃsaḥ: a member of the citizens’ lineage/tradition
• paura-paraṃparā-aṃsaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paura (प्रातिपदिक) + paraṃparā (प्रातिपदिक) + aṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (पौराणां परंपरायाः अंशः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kāśī is envisioned as a luminous shoreline beyond a dark ocean of saṃsāra; Śiva as Tripurāntaka stands as ferryman/guide, while the city’s inhabitants form a sacred procession symbolizing lineage-transmitted siddhi.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Purahā/Purāri)
• Kāśī (implied: ‘this city’)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is framed as a direct passage beyond saṃsāra, where Śiva’s power leads seekers of the highest puruṣārtha to siddhi.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), praised as the ‘far shore’ beyond worldly bondage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the verse emphasizes the telos (puruṣārtha) and Śiva’s salvific role in Kāśī.