Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

आनंदकानने शंभोः किं किं केन न लभ्यते । यत्र वासकृतां पुंसां धर्मराशिः पदेपदे

Transliteration

ānaṃdakānane śaṃbhoḥ kiṃ kiṃ kena na labhyate | yatra vāsakṛtāṃ puṃsāṃ dharmarāśiḥ padepade

Translation

In Śambhu’s Ānandakānana, what is there that cannot be attained, and by whom? For those who merely dwell there, heaps of dharma arise at every step.

Word by Word

• आनन्द-कानने: in the forest of bliss
• आनन्द-कानने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आनन्द (प्रातिपदिक) + कानन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (आनन्दस्य काननम्)

• शंभोः: of Śambhu
• शंभोः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• किम्: what
• किम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• किम्: what (at all)
• किम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति-प्रश्नार्थक (emphatic)

• केन: by whom/with what
• केन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• लभ्यते: is obtained
• लभ्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (passive sense: ‘is obtained’)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• वास-कृताम्: of those who have taken residence
• वास-कृताम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वास (प्रातिपदिक) + कृ (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; कृदन्तः—क्त (past passive participle) ‘कृत’ with उपपद ‘वास’ = वासकृत (one who has made residence)

• पुंसाम्: of men/people
• पुंसाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुंस्/पुम् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• धर्म-राशिः: a heap/abundance of merit
• धर्म-राशिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + राशि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (धर्माणां राशिः)

• पदे-पदे: at every step
• पदे-पदे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; सप्तमी-द्विवचनरूपेण अव्ययवत् (at every step)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative convention)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandakānana (within Kāśī/Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A verdant sacred grove within Kāśī—Ānandakānana—filled with Śiva shrines, pilgrims walking barefoot; each footprint blossoms into lotus-like symbols of dharma, suggesting merit at every step.

Characters & Entities

• Śambhu (Śiva)
• Ānandakānana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is portrayed as a uniquely meritorious realm where living there itself generates dharma continuously.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ānandakānana—Śiva’s blissful sacred grove/region identified with Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Residence in the sacred क्षेत्र (vāsa in Kāśī/Ānandakānana) is implied as a powerful dharmic practice.