Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

कलिस्तानेव बाधेत कालस्तांश्च जिघांसति

Transliteration

kalistāneva bādheta kālastāṃśca jighāṃsati

Translation

Kali n’accable que ceux qui sont ailleurs, et le Temps cherche à frapper précisément ces mêmes êtres.

Word by Word

• कलिः: Kali
• कलिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• स्थाने: in (its) place
• स्थाने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• एव: only/indeed
• एव: Sambandha (modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• बाधेत: would afflict
• बाधेत: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: बाध् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• कालः: Time/Death
• कालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• तान्: those (people)
• तान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• जिघांसति: wishes to kill/destroy
• जिघांसति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु) (desiderative: जिघांस्)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; सन्नन्त (desiderative)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue context often Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (by contrast)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages/seekers

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A boundary scene: beyond Kāśī’s luminous perimeter, Kali and Kāla roam among ordinary towns, binding people with fear; within the glow, calm prevails.

Characters & Entities

• Kali
• Kāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse contrasts ordinary worldly life—where Kali and Time dominate—with the implied safety of the sacred refuge praised in the surrounding passage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Implicitly Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), as the surrounding adhyāya centers on Kāśī as the place where such afflictions do not prevail.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated; it is a doctrinal assertion about Kali and Time’s reach.