Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

सनारुणा समुच्छ्वस्य नीतः स उपजंघनिः । महाश्मशानभूभागं स्वर्गद्वारसमीपतः

Transliteration

sanāruṇā samucchvasya nītaḥ sa upajaṃghaniḥ | mahāśmaśānabhūbhāgaṃ svargadvārasamīpataḥ

Translation

Sanāru, haletant d’angoisse, porta Upajaṅghani jusqu’au sol du Grand Champ de crémation, près de Svargadvāra, la «Porte du Ciel».

Word by Word

• स: he
• स: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-रूप (छन्दसि ‘स’ = ‘सः’)

• नारुणा: by Nāruṇa
• नारुणा: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करण/हेतु-निर्देश (instrumental/agent in passive)

• समुच्छ्वस्य: having gasped/breathed heavily
• समुच्छ्वस्य: Purvakala (पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + उत् + श्वस् (धातु) + ल्यप्/क्त्वा-समासिक (कृदन्त)
• Form: अव्ययभावे कृदन्त (absolutive sense: having breathed heavily); रूपं छान्दसम्/पाठभेदसम्भवः

• नीतः: was led
• नीतः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नी (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि ‘led/brought’

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• उपजंघनिः: Upajaṅghani
• उपजंघनिः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपजंघनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेष-नाम (proper name)

• महाश्मशानभूभागम्: to the great cremation-ground area
• महाश्मशानभूभागम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + श्मशान + भूभाग (प्रातिपदिक-समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारय-सम्भवः: ‘श्मशानस्य भूभागः’ + ‘महा’ विशेषणपूर्वपद

• स्वर्गद्वारसमीपतः: near the gate of heaven
• स्वर्गद्वारसमीपतः: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वर्ग + द्वार + समीप (प्रातिपदिक-समास) + तः (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) ‘from/near’; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘स्वर्गद्वारस्य समीपः’

Speaker

Skanda (narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Svargadvāra (within Kāśī Mahāśmaśāna)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka-ādi ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage supports a near-unconscious ascetic, chest heaving; they arrive at a vast cremation-ground with pyres, ash, and a symbolic ‘gate’ motif—Svargadvāra—under a smoky sky.

Characters & Entities

• Sanāru
• Upajaṅghani
• Mahāśmaśāna
• Svargadvāra
• Kāśī (implicit)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s cremation-ground is framed not as mere death-space but as a liberation-charged sacred geography linked with Śiva’s grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mahāśmaśāna and Svargadvāra—renowned sacred locales within Kāśī’s spiritual topography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the setting implies funerary/antyeṣṭi concerns, preparing for the next verses.