Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

पुनःक्व नृत्वं श्रेयोभूः क्व काशीकर्मबंधहृत् । वृथागते हि मानुष्ये काशीप्राप्तिविवर्जनात्

Transliteration

punaḥkva nṛtvaṃ śreyobhūḥ kva kāśīkarmabaṃdhahṛt | vṛthāgate hi mānuṣye kāśīprāptivivarjanāt

Translation

“What is mere ‘being human’ compared to Kāśī, the giver of the highest good, the remover of bondage to karma? Human life is truly wasted if one is deprived of attaining Kāśī.”

Word by Word

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरुक्ति/पुनरावृत्त्यर्थक (again)

• क्व: where?
• क्व: Interrogative (प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नवाचक (where?)

• नृत्वम्: dancing / the state of dancing
• नृत्वम्: Topic/Predicate nominal (विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘नृत्य/नर्तकत्व’ भाववाचक

• श्रेयः: the good / welfare
• श्रेयः: Topic/Predicate nominal (विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रेयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘better, welfare’

• भूः: you became
• भूः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘you became/you were’

• क्व: where?
• क्व: Interrogative (प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नवाचक (where?)

• काशीकर्मबंधहृत्: remover of the bondage of karma (through Kashi)
• काशीकर्मबंधहृत्: Predicate qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक) + कर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + बन्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + हृत्/हृ (धातु/प्रातिपदिक ‘हरने’)
• Form: समासः (बहुपद-तत्पुरुष); पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (श्रेयः/त्वम्) — ‘काशी-सम्बन्धि कर्मबन्धं हरति’

• वृथा: in vain
• वृथा: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वृथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (in vain)

• आगते: when obtained/arrived
• आगते: Locative absolute-like (सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ + गम् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त (past participle) नपुंसकलिङ्गे सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘आगते (मानुष्ये)’ = ‘when (human life) has come/occurred’

• हि: indeed
• हि: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphasis/indeed)

• मानुष्ये: in human life / in human birth
• मानुष्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानुष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• काशीप्राप्तिविवर्जनात्: because of the avoidance of attaining Kashi
• काशीप्राप्तिविवर्जनात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक) + प्राप्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + विवर्जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुष); नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुल्लिङ्ग ‘विवर्जन’ (here as abstract); पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (ablative of cause)

Speaker

Tapasvī (ascetic guide)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Internal addressee in the story (not named in verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic moment: the speaker contrasts ordinary human life with the extraordinary salvific power of Kāśī that severs karmic fetters.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Karma-bandha (bondage of karma)
• Śreyas (highest good)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The highest purpose of life is freedom from karmic bondage; Kāśī is praised as a unique means toward that end.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), explicitly lauded as karma-bandha-hṛt.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite; the emphasis is on Kāśī-prāpti—reaching/visiting Kāśī as a transformative religious act.