Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

अभावः कल्प्यते मूढैर्यदा च शिवयोस्तयोः । क्षेत्रस्यास्य तदाभावः कल्प्यो निर्वाणकारिणः

Transliteration

abhāvaḥ kalpyate mūḍhairyadā ca śivayostayoḥ | kṣetrasyāsya tadābhāvaḥ kalpyo nirvāṇakāriṇaḥ

Translation

Lorsque les égarés imaginent ici quelque « absence » de Śiva et de sa Śakti, qu’ils imaginent aussi l’absence de ce saint Kṣetra, dont la nature même est de conférer le nirvāṇa.

Word by Word

• अभावः: absence, non-existence
• अभावः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अभाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• कल्प्यते: is imagined/assumed
• कल्प्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कॢप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive)

• मूढैः: by fools
• मूढैः: Karana (Instrument/Agent in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूढ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• यदा: when
• यदा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• शिवयोः: of the two Śivas (Śiva and Śakti)
• शिवयोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), द्विवचन (Dual)

• तयोः: of those two
• तयोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), द्विवचन (Dual)

• क्षेत्रस्य: of the sacred field (kṣetra)
• क्षेत्रस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

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

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• अभावः: absence
• अभावः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अभाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• कल्प्यः: to be imagined/should be assumed
• कल्प्यः: Vidhi/Predicate (to be supposed/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कॢप् (धातु) + य (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृत्य-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive/future passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• निर्वाणकारिणः: of the one who causes liberation
• निर्वाणकारिणः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्वाण + कारिन् (प्रातिपदिक); components: निर्वाण (प्रातिपदिक) + कारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-kṣetra (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya (Ghaṭodbhava)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contemplative vision of Kāśī as an eternal luminous kṣetra: Śiva and Śakti subtly enthroned in the city’s spiritual heart, while deluded figures gesture toward ‘emptiness’ that dissolves before the kṣetra’s radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Śakti
• Kāśī (implied)
• Kṣetra (Avimukta, implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s liberating power is inseparable from the living presence of Śiva and Śakti; denying them denies the very meaning of the Kṣetra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī’s Avimukta Kṣetra (the liberation-giving sacred field) is being praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed; the verse establishes the theological basis for Kāśī’s mokṣa-bestowing sanctity.