Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

अन्येषामपि पापानां महापापजुषामपि । नाशयित्री परा काशी विश्वेश समधिष्ठिता

Transliteration

anyeṣāmapi pāpānāṃ mahāpāpajuṣāmapi | nāśayitrī parā kāśī viśveśa samadhiṣṭhitā

Translation

Even for other sins—and even for those long steeped in great sins—supreme Kāśī is the destroyer, for it is presided over by Viśveśa.

Word by Word

• anyeṣām: of others
• anyeṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (also/even)

• pāpānām: of sins
• pāpānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

• mahāpāpa-juṣām: of those who indulge in great sins
• mahāpāpa-juṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-pāpa-juṣ (जुष् धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक ‘जुष्’ (enjoy/indulge) से ‘जुष्’/‘जुष’ (one who indulges); षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural); तत्पुरुषः—‘महापापं जुषन्ति ये’

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (even)

• nāśayitrī: destroyer
• nāśayitrī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naś (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त-तृच् (agent noun) ‘नाशयितृ’ (destroyer); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• parā: supreme
• parā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); ‘kāśī’ इति विशेषण

• kāśī: Kāśī
• kāśī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• viśveśa: O Viśveśa
• viśveśa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśveśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• samadhiṣṭhitā: presided over/ruled (by)
• samadhiṣṭhitā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-adhi-sthā (स्था धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त-भूतकर्मणि (past passive participle) ‘समधिष्ठित’; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); ‘kāśī’ इति विशेषण

Speaker

Bṛhaspati

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Viśveśa-samādhiṣṭhitā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Indra (Śakra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic Kāśī: Viśveśa enthroned as presiding Lord; streams of pilgrims—some visibly penitent—are washed in light as their sins dissolve like shadows.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Viśveśa (Śiva)
• Pāpa
• Mahāpāpa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s sanctity is framed as universally purificatory because it is governed by Viśveśa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as Viśveśa’s presided kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed; the verse asserts the purifying power of Kāśī itself.