Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 65

Devanagari script

इयं वेणीहि निःश्रेणी ब्रह्मणो वर्त्मयास्यतः । जंतोर्विशुद्धदेहस्य श्रद्धाऽश्रद्धाप्लुतस्य च

Transliteration

iyaṃ veṇīhi niḥśreṇī brahmaṇo vartmayāsyataḥ | jaṃtorviśuddhadehasya śraddhā'śraddhāplutasya ca

Translation

This Veṇī indeed is the ladder to Brahman—the path for the traveler. It serves the embodied being whose body is purified, whether he is filled with faith or even without faith.

Word by Word

• iyam: this (she/this one)
• iyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• veṇī: braid; (here) Veṇī (name)
• veṇī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• hi: indeed, for
• hi: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध/बल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अव्यय

• niḥśreṇī: stairway, ladder
• niḥśreṇī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niḥśreṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• brahmaṇaḥ: of Brahman
• brahmaṇaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• vartmayā: by the path, by the way
• vartmayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vartman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• āsyataḥ: of the mouth
• āsyataḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āsya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• jantoḥ: of the creature, of the being
• jantoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jantu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• viśuddha-dehasya: of (one) whose body is purified
• viśuddha-dehasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśuddha (विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक) + deha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः कर्मधारय; पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; ‘विशुद्धः देहः’ इति

• śraddhā-aśraddhā-plutasya: of one immersed in faith and lack of faith
• śraddhā-aśraddhā-plutasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śraddhā (प्रातिपदिक) + aśraddhā (प्रातिपदिक) + pluta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √plu (प्लु) + क्त)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुष-प्रायः); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; ‘श्रद्धया अश्रद्धया च प्लुतः’ (immersed in faith and non-faith)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Veṇī (Kāśī)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic vision of Veṇī as a radiant ladder rising from the ghats of Kāśī toward a formless Brahman-light; pilgrims of varied dispositions (faithful and doubtful) stand purified at the river’s edge as the ladder appears.

Characters & Entities

• Veṇī (Triveṇī)
• Brahman
• Prayāga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha’s sanctifying power is portrayed as exceptionally efficacious—supporting spiritual ascent even when personal faith is imperfect.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Veṇī/Triveṇī at Prayāga—the confluence conceived as a ‘ladder’ toward Brahman.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, purification through tīrtha-contact (especially bathing/immersion) at the Veṇī.