Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

यदहं प्राप्तवानस्मि पुरीं वाराणसीं शुभाम् । मयाप्यतीव दुष्प्राप्यां स प्रसादो स्य वै शिशोः

Transliteration

yadahaṃ prāptavānasmi purīṃ vārāṇasīṃ śubhām | mayāpyatīva duṣprāpyāṃ sa prasādo sya vai śiśoḥ

Translation

Que j’aie atteint l’auspicieuse cité de Vārāṇasī—si difficile à obtenir même pour moi—voilà, en vérité, la grâce de cet Enfant, Gaṇeśa.

Word by Word

• yat: that which
• yat: Karman (Object of 'prāptavān')
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद्) (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — सम्बन्धसूचक (correlative)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद्) (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम; प्रथमा, एकवचन

• prāptavān: having obtained
• prāptavān: Karta-anvaya (Predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-āp (धातु)
• Form: क्तवतु-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Perfect participle active); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — 'having obtained'

• asmi: am
• asmi: Kriya (Auxiliary/copula)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद; उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन — 'am'

• purīm: city
• purīm: Karman (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purī (पुरी) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन

• vārāṇasīm: Vārāṇasī
• vārāṇasīm: Karman (Apposition to purīm)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārāṇasī (वाराणसी) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन (पुरीम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषण-रूपेण)

• śubhām: auspicious
• śubhām: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (शुभ) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन — 'auspicious' (purīm/vārāṇasīm qualifies)

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद्) (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम; तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन — 'by me'

• api: even/also
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अपि)
• Form: निपात (particle) — 'also/even'

• atīva: exceedingly
• atīva: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atīva (अतीव)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) — 'very, exceedingly'

• duṣprāpyām: hard to obtain
• duṣprāpyām: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dus- (दुस्) + prāpya (प्राप्य) < pra-āp (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (यत्/ण्यत्-प्रत्ययार्थे प्राप्य 'obtainable'); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन — 'hard to obtain' (purīm qualifies)

• saḥ: that
• saḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्) (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — 'that'

• prasādaḥ: grace
• prasādaḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative with syāt)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prasāda (प्रसाद) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — 'grace/favor'

• syāt: may be
• syāt: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — 'may be/would be'

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (वै)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• śiśoḥ: of the child
• śiśoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiśu (शिशु) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, एकवचन — 'of the child/son'

Speaker

Śiva (Vṛṣabhadhvaja)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/assembly (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva, having arrived in Kāśī, openly declares before the gods that his attainment of the city is due to the grace of the divine Child Gaṇeśa.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
• Gaṇeśa (as Śiśu/Child)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Access to Kāśī is presented as a rare spiritual fortune granted by divine grace, especially through Gaṇeśa’s favor.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī/Kāśī—the supreme sacred city celebrated throughout the Kāśī Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse emphasizes grace (prasāda) as the cause of attaining Kāśī.