Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 160

Devanagari script

ततः काशीं पुनः प्राप्य कल्पांते मोक्षमाप्नुयात् । वीरेश्वरस्य पूर्वेण गंगायाः पश्चिमे तटे

Transliteration

tataḥ kāśīṃ punaḥ prāpya kalpāṃte mokṣamāpnuyāt | vīreśvarasya pūrveṇa gaṃgāyāḥ paścime taṭe

Translation

Ensuite, revenu de nouveau à Kāśī, on obtient la délivrance à la fin du kalpa : en ce lieu à l’est de Vīreśvara, sur la rive occidentale de la Gaṅgā.

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• काशीम्: Kāśī
• काशीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• प्राप्य: having reached
• प्राप्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्ययभाव; धातु: प्राप् (प्र+आप्)

• कल्पान्ते: at the end of the kalpa
• कल्पान्ते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्पान्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine) / नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter) (प्रयोगानुसार), सप्तमी (Locative, 7th), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कल्पस्य अन्तः)

• मोक्षम्: liberation
• मोक्षम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• आप्नुयात्: may attain
• आप्नुयात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपदम्; धातु: आप्

• वीरेश्वरस्य: of Vīreśvara
• वीरेश्वरस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी (Genitive, 6th), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुषः (वीराणाम् ईश्वरः)

• पूर्वेण: to the east of
• पूर्वेण: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-एकवचनरूपेण दिशावाचक-निपातवत् (directional usage); तृतीया (Instrumental, 3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• गङ्गायाः: of the Gaṅgā
• गङ्गायाः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), षष्ठी (Genitive, 6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• पश्चिमे: on the western (side)
• पश्चिमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पश्चिम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine) / नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter) (सप्तमी-एकवचन), सप्तमी (Locative, 7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• तटे: on the bank
• तटे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine) / नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative, 7th), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrator; tīrtha-location instruction)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vīreśvara (Kāśī) on Gaṅgā’s western bank

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (frame typical; not stated in verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim on the western bank of the Gaṅgā, with steps (ghāṭ), morning mist, and a shrine of Vīreśvara nearby; a subtle cosmic motif hints at kalpānta—distant dissolving horizons—yet the pilgrim is serene.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Gaṅgā
• Vīreśvara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is portrayed as a supreme liberating field, where reaching the sacred precinct connected to Śiva and the Gaṅgā culminates in mokṣa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vīreśvara in Kāśī, located east of the shrine area and on the western bank of the Gaṅgā (as per the verse’s directional markers).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse implies pilgrimage/returning to Kāśī and approaching the specified locale; no explicit dāna/snān/japa is stated here.