Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 140

Devanagari script

किंवा नु करुणामूर्तिरिह काशिनिवासिनाम् । सर्वदुःखौघहरिणी परानंदप्रदायिनी

Transliteration

kiṃvā nu karuṇāmūrtiriha kāśinivāsinām | sarvaduḥkhaughahariṇī parānaṃdapradāyinī

Translation

N’est-elle pas, en vérité, l’incarnation même de la compassion pour les habitants de Kāśī—celle qui dissipe le déluge de toutes les peines et accorde la béatitude suprême ?

Word by Word

• किं: what?
• किं: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle: 'or')

• नु: indeed/then (emphasis)
• नु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नु (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्न/निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic/interrogative particle)

• करुणा-मूर्तिः: the embodiment of compassion
• करुणा-मूर्तिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: करुणा (प्रातिपदिक) + मूर्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative: 'of compassion'), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• काशि-निवासिनाम्: of the residents of Kāśī
• काशि-निवासिनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक) + निवासिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष (locative determinative: 'dwelling in Kāśī'), पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन

• सर्व-दुःख-ओघ-हरिणी: removing the flood of all sorrows
• सर्व-दुःख-ओघ-हरिणी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + दुःख (प्रातिपदिक) + ओघ (प्रातिपदिक) + हरिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (determinative: 'remover of the flood of all sorrows'), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• पर-आनन्द-प्रदायिनी: bestowing supreme bliss
• पर-आनन्द-प्रदायिनी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + आनन्द (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रदायिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (determinative: 'giver of supreme bliss'), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages at Naimiṣāraṇya (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotional tableau of Kāśī as a compassionate presence—Viśveśvara’s city with ghāṭas, pilgrims, and a luminous feminine kṣetra-śakti/gaṅgā-figure symbolically washing away sorrow and granting serene bliss.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Mahādevī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine compassion is presented as the force that dissolves suffering and culminates in higher bliss—especially in sacred Kāśī.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, praised as a mercy-filled sacred realm for its residents and seekers.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse emphasizes reliance on divine grace and the consoling power of the sacred kṣetra.