Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

तत्र ब्रध्नं समाराध्य प्रकृतिं स्वामवाप्स्यसि । महैनसां क्षयो यत्र नास्ति वाराणसीं विना

Transliteration

tatra bradhnaṃ samārādhya prakṛtiṃ svāmavāpsyasi | mahainasāṃ kṣayo yatra nāsti vārāṇasīṃ vinā

Translation

“There, by duly worshipping Bradhna, you will regain your own natural state. For the destruction of great sins is found nowhere—apart from Vārāṇasī.”

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• bradhnam: Bradhna (a deity/name)
• bradhnam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bradhna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (देवता-नाम)

• samārādhya: having worshipped
• samārādhya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sam-ā-√rādh (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), ‘having worshipped/propitiated’

• prakṛtim: (your) natural state
• prakṛtim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prakṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• svām: one’s own
• svām: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (agreeing with prakṛtim)

• avāpsyasi: you will obtain
• avāpsyasi: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava-√āp (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन

• mahā-enasām: of great sins
• mahā-enasām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + enas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘great’ + ‘sin’)

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

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्ध/देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• asti: is
• asti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• vārāṇasīm: Vārāṇasī
• vārāṇasīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārāṇasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• vinā: without
• vinā: Apavarga (Exclusion/अपवर्जन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: अपवर्जन-अव्यय/उपपद (preposition-like indeclinable)

Speaker

Kṛṣṇa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visionary foreshadowing of Kāśī: Kṛṣṇa’s words conjure the city where Bradhna is worshipped; Sāmba imagines recovery and the burning away of sin in the sacred precincts.

Characters & Entities

• Bradhna
• Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is upheld as uniquely powerful for dissolving even grave sin, restoring the seeker to wholeness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī (Kāśī), proclaimed as unparalleled for the destruction of great sins.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Proper worship (samārādhana) of Bradhna in Kāśī is prescribed for restoration.