Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

अहो जनानां जडता विहाय काशीं यदन्यत्र न यंति चेतः । परिस्फुरद्गांगजलाभिरामां कामारिशूलाग्रधृतां लयेपि

Transliteration

aho janānāṃ jaḍatā vihāya kāśīṃ yadanyatra na yaṃti cetaḥ | parisphuradgāṃgajalābhirāmāṃ kāmāriśūlāgradhṛtāṃ layepi

Translation

Hélas, quelle lourdeur chez les hommes ! Délaissant Kāśī, leur esprit s’en va ailleurs—cette Kāśī, charmante des eaux miroitantes de la Gaṅgā, et portée même lors de la dissolution sur la pointe du trident de l’ennemi de Kāma, Śiva.

Word by Word

• aho: ah!, alas!
• aho: Sambodhana/Exclamation (सम्बोधन/उद्गार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: aho (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्गार-अव्यय (interjection)

• janānām: of people
• janānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• jaḍatā: stupidity, dullness
• jaḍatā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaḍatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vihāya: having abandoned
• vihāya: Kriya-visheshana (Converb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi√hā (हा धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (Gerund), ‘त्यक्त्वा’

• kāśīm: Kāśī
• kāśīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• yat: that/which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक

• anyatra: elsewhere
• anyatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anyatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (elsewhere)

• na: not
• na: Nishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• yānti: go
• yānti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (या धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• cetaḥ: mind
• cetaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cetas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• parisphurat-gāṃga-jala-ābhirāmām: charming with shimmering Gaṅgā water
• parisphurat-gāṃga-jala-ābhirāmām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parisphurat (स्फुर् धातु, शतृ) + gāṃga (प्रातिपदिक) + jala (प्रातिपदिक) + ābhirāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण—‘परिस्फुरत् गाङ्गजलैः आभिरामा’ (charming with shimmering Gaṅgā waters)

• kāmāri-śūla-agra-dhṛtām: held on the tip of Śiva’s trident
• kāmāri-śūla-agra-dhṛtām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāmāri (प्रातिपदिक; ‘कामस्य अरिः’=Śiva) + śūla (प्रातिपदिक) + agra (प्रातिपदिक) + dhṛta (धृ धातु, क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण—‘कामारिणः शूलाग्रे धृता’ (held on the tip of Kāma’s-enemy’s trident)

• laye: in dissolution, at the time of cosmic end
• laye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: laya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि-कारक (particle: even)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta) with Gaṅgā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kāśī’s ghāṭs gleam with rippling Gaṅgā light; above, a colossal Śiva stands as Kāma’s foe, holding the entire city poised on the tip of his trident during cosmic dissolution—waves of pralaya surrounding yet not touching Kāśī.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Gaṅgā
• Śiva (Kāmāri)
• Śūla (trident)
• Pralaya (laya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is portrayed as cosmically protected and supremely sacred; turning one’s mind away from it is spiritual dullness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra) and the Gaṅgā within it, under Śiva’s guardianship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the verse motivates devotion to Kāśī and Gaṅgā by describing their cosmic sanctity.