Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 110

Devanagari script

श्रीकंठाः सर्व एवात्र सर्वे मृत्युंजया ध्रुवम् । मोक्षश्री श्रितवर्ष्माणस्त्वर्धनारीश्वरायतः

Transliteration

śrīkaṃṭhāḥ sarva evātra sarve mṛtyuṃjayā dhruvam | mokṣaśrī śritavarṣmāṇastvardhanārīśvarāyataḥ

Translation

Ici, assurément, tous sont des Śrīkaṇṭha ; tous, sans doute, sont vainqueurs de la mort. Leurs corps mêmes sont revêtus de la splendeur de la délivrance, car ils sont façonnés par la grâce d’Ardhanārīśvara.

Word by Word

• श्रीकण्ठाः: Śrīkaṇṭhas (forms of Śiva)
• श्रीकण्ठाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रीकण्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (श्रीमान् कण्ठः यस्य/श्रीकण्ठः = शिवः)

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (emphatic particle)

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Desha-adhikarana (Locative sense/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (here)

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• मृत्युञ्जयाः: conquerors of death
• मृत्युञ्जयाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्युञ्जय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (मृत्युं जयति इति)

• ध्रुवम्: certainly
• ध्रुवम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ध्रुव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावेन क्रियाविशेषणवत्; निश्चयार्थक (certainly)

• मोक्षश्रीः: the splendor of liberation
• मोक्षश्रीः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्ष + श्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मोक्षस्य श्रीः)

• श्रितवर्ष्माणः: whose bodies are established (therein)
• श्रितवर्ष्माणः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रित + वर्ष्मन् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √श्रि धातु, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; बहुव्रीह्यर्थे विशेषणम् (those whose bodies have resorted to/are established in)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषार्थक (but/indeed)

• अर्धनारीश्वरायतः: extended/emanating from Ardhanārīśvara
• अर्धनारीश्वरायतः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अर्धनारीश्वर + आयत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (अर्धनारीश्वरस्य आयताः = extended/derived from Ardhanārīśvara)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sage addressee (mahāmune)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kāśī streets suffused with a calm, luminous aura; devotees appear with subtle Śiva marks (tripuṇḍra), and an Ardhanārīśvara presence radiates behind them, suggesting their bodies ‘clothed’ in mokṣa-śrī; a mṛtyu (death) figure recedes powerless.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Śiva (Śrīkaṇṭha)
• Mṛtyuṃjaya
• Ardhanārīśvara
• Mokṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Residence in Kāśī is portrayed as transformative—orienting devotees toward Śiva-nature, fearlessness of death, and liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, as the liberating field (mokṣa-kṣetra) under the lordship of Śiva.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the emphasis is on Śiva-identification and liberation granted through Kāśī’s divine presence.