Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

सर्वेषां जंतुजातानां जनन्येकैक्काशिका । महामृतस्तन्यदात्री नेत्री च परमं पदम्

Transliteration

sarveṣāṃ jaṃtujātānāṃ jananyekaikkāśikā | mahāmṛtastanyadātrī netrī ca paramaṃ padam

Translation

For all classes of living beings, Kāśikā alone is the unique Mother—she gives the milk of the great amṛta and leads them to the supreme state.

Word by Word

• sarveṣām: of all
• sarveṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; सर्वनामसदृश-विशेषणप्रयोगः

• jantu-jātānām: of all living beings
• jantu-jātānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jantu (प्रातिपदिक) + jāta (√jan धातु, क्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन

• jananī: mother
• jananī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jananī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• ekā: one, unique
• ekā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (jananī)

• kāśikā: Kashika (Kashi as a motherly one)
• kāśikā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; काशी-सम्बद्धा (epithet)

• mahā-mṛta-stanya-dātrī: giver of the milk of great immortality
• mahā-mṛta-stanya-dātrī: Karya (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + mṛta (√mṛ धातु, क्त) + stanya (प्रातिपदिक) + dātrī (√dā धातु, तृन्/तृच्)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विधेय (predicate)

• netrī: guide, leader
• netrī: Karya (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: netrī (√nī धातु, तृन्/तृच्)
• Form: कृदन्त (कर्तृवाचक-तृच्); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विधेय

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपातः (conjunction)

• paramam: supreme
• paramam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (padam)

• padam: state, abode
• padam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (māhātmya exposition)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśikā (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kāśī envisioned as a divine Mother-figure or as the city itself radiating maternal warmth; streams of luminous ‘amṛta-milk’ flow symbolically from the city/temple toward beings; a path of light leads upward to ‘parama pada’.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśikā/Kāśī
• All beings (jantu-jāta)
• Paramam Padam (supreme state)
• Amṛta (nectar)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is portrayed as a universal, compassionate mother who nourishes beings toward immortality and liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśikā/Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), praised as the unique mother and guide to the highest goal.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse functions as a theological eulogy encouraging refuge in Kāśī.