Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 99

Devanagari script

अस्य संसारदुःखस्य सर्वोपद्रवदायिनः । उपाय एक एवास्ति काशिकानंदभूमिका

Transliteration

asya saṃsāraduḥkhasya sarvopadravadāyinaḥ | upāya eka evāsti kāśikānaṃdabhūmikā

Translation

Pour cette souffrance de l’existence mondaine, qui engendre toute sorte d’épreuves, il n’est qu’un seul remède : la terre bienheureuse de Kāśī.

Word by Word

• अस्य: of this
• अस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• संसारदुःखस्य: of the suffering of saṃsāra
• संसारदुःखस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संसार + दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: संसारस्य दुःखम्

• सर्वोपद्रवदायिनः: giving rise to all afflictions
• सर्वोपद्रवदायिनः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + उपद्रव + दायिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग-समर्थ (दुःखस्य इत्यस्य), षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; ‘all-trouble-giving’

• उपायः: remedy/means
• उपायः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपाय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• एकः: one
• एकः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण (उपायः)

• एव: only
• एव: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• अस्ति: is
• अस्ति: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• काशिकानंदभूमिका: the blissful ground of Kāśikā (Kāśī)
• काशिकानंदभूमिका: Vidheyasaṃjñā (Predicate nominative/apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशिका + आनंद + भूमिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: काशिकायाः आनंदभूमिका; उपायः इत्यस्य विधेय/अप्पोज़िशन

Speaker

Bhagavān (continuing the Dhruva dialogue context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Kāśikānanda-bhūmi)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dhruva (context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic panorama: saṃsāra depicted as a stormy ocean of troubles; a radiant island/ground labeled Kāśī rises as the sole stable refuge, with Viśveśvara’s light at its center and pilgrims moving from darkness into illumination.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Saṃsāra
• Ānanda-bhūmi (blissful realm)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is also spiritual medicine: Kāśī is portrayed as a singular means to overcome saṃsāra’s anguish.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), praised as an ānanda-bhūmi and a unique upāya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicit prescription of taking refuge in/going to Kāśī as a dharmic means toward release.