Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

सर्वत्रशुभजन्मिन्यां काश्यां मुक्तिः पदेपदे । तथापि सविशेषं हि तत्पीठं सर्वसिद्धिकृत्

Transliteration

sarvatraśubhajanminyāṃ kāśyāṃ muktiḥ padepade | tathāpi saviśeṣaṃ hi tatpīṭhaṃ sarvasiddhikṛt

Translation

À Kāśī—où l’auspice naît partout—la délivrance se trouve à chaque pas. Pourtant, ce siège sacré particulier est d’une excellence singulière, car il confère toute accomplissement.

Word by Word

• सर्वत्रशुभजन्मिन्याम्: in Kāśī, where auspicious birth occurs everywhere
• सर्वत्रशुभजन्मिन्याम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्वत्र-शुभ-जन्मिनी (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; विशेषण (काशी-विशेषण); समासः बहुपद-तत्पुरुषप्रायः (‘सर्वत्र शुभं जन्म यस्याः/यत्र’)

• काश्याम्: in Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• काश्याम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• मुक्तिः: liberation
• मुक्तिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• पदे: at (each) step
• पदे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोगे (reduplicated with next word)

• पदे: at every step
• पदे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (idiom: pade pade)

• तथापि: nevertheless
• तथापि: Discourse connector (सम्बन्धसूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथापि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-समुच्चय/विरोधसूचक (concessive: ‘nevertheless’)

• सविशेषम्: especially
• सविशेषम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स-विशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण (adverbial accusative: ‘especially/with distinction’)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• तत्पीठम्: that sacred seat/spot
• तत्पीठम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत्-पीठ (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘तस्य पीठम्’)

• सर्वसिद्धिकृत्: bringing about all attainments
• सर्वसिद्धिकृत्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व-सिद्धि-कृत् (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (कृत्-प्रत्यय: कृत्/कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक), प्रथमा, एकवचन; नपुंसकलिङ्गे तत्पीठम्-विशेषण; समासः तत्पुरुषः (‘सर्वाः सिद्धयः करोति’)

Speaker

Skanda (narration to Agastya, inferred from Kāśī Khaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta) with the ‘special pīṭha’ (context: Pañcamudrā-pīṭha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Not explicit in the excerpt

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic Kāśī cityscape where every lane glows with auspicious light; within it, one radiant pīṭha shines brighter, drawing pilgrims like a magnet of siddhi.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Varanasi)
• pīṭha (sacred seat)
• mukti
• sarva-siddhi

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is intrinsically liberating, yet certain pīṭhas within it are described as concentrated sources of grace and siddhi.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī in general, and a specific pīṭha (contextually the Pañcamudrā seat) as uniquely “sarva-siddhi-kṛt.”

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied pīṭha-sevā (service/visitation of the sacred seat), though no detailed rite is specified in this verse.