Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

यथेष्टमरणं केचिदाहुस्तत्त्वावबोधकाः । प्रयागे सर्वतीर्थानां राज्ञिसर्वाभिलाषदे

Transliteration

yatheṣṭamaraṇaṃ kecidāhustattvāvabodhakāḥ | prayāge sarvatīrthānāṃ rājñisarvābhilāṣade

Translation

Certains, se prétendant pénétrés de la vérité, parlent de « mourir à volonté » ; et ils désignent Prayāga, roi de tous les tīrtha, dispensateur de toute obtention désirée.

Word by Word

• यथेष्टमरणम्: death as one wishes
• यथेष्टमरणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यथा (अव्यय) + इष्ट + मरण (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अव्ययीभावः (यथेष्टम् = यथा इष्टम्) + मरणम्; समस्तपदम्

• केचित्: some (people)
• केचित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक-सर्वनाम

• आहुः: said
• आहुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अह् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• तत्त्वावबोधकाः: knowers/expounders of truth
• तत्त्वावबोधकाः: Karta (Apposition/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत्त्व + अवबोधक (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तत्त्वस्य अवबोधकाः)

• प्रयागे: in Prayāga
• प्रयागे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रयाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• सर्वतीर्थानाम्: of all sacred places
• सर्वतीर्थानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (सर्वाणि तीर्थानि)

• राज्ञि: in/at the king (i.e., as king among)
• राज्ञि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• सर्वाभिलाषदे: (in the place) granting all desires
• सर्वाभिलाषदे: Adhikarana (Qualifier in locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + अभिलाष + द (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (सर्वान् अभिलाषान् ददाति इति)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prayāga

Type: sangam

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the confluence, three rivers are personified; pilgrims bathe at the saṅgama while a group of disputants gestures about ‘yatheṣṭa-maraṇa’. Above, a subtle celestial canopy suggests Prayāga’s tīrtha-rāja status.

Characters & Entities

• Prayāga
• Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic tradition exalts certain tīrthas as uniquely powerful; Prayāga is praised as granting desired spiritual aims.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prayāga, celebrated as sarvatīrtha-rāja, the king among pilgrimage places.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not explicit in this verse; it gestures toward tīrtha-sevana (seeking merit at Prayāga) as a means to attain goals.