Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

अथवा स कथं लभ्यो विना पुण्यभरोदयम् । इति क्षणं समाधाय मनः स मुनिपुंगवः

Transliteration

athavā sa kathaṃ labhyo vinā puṇyabharodayam | iti kṣaṇaṃ samādhāya manaḥ sa munipuṃgavaḥ

Translation

«Sinon, comment un tel être pourrait-il être obtenu sans l’essor d’un grand trésor de mérite?» Ainsi songeant, le plus éminent des sages recueillit son esprit un instant.

Word by Word

• athavā: or else
• athavā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: athavā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक अव्यय (disjunctive)

• saḥ: he/that (bridegroom)
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• katham: how
• katham: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय

• labhyaḥ: obtainable
• labhyaḥ: Karta (Predicate/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: labh (लभ् धातु) + ya (य)
• Form: यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (potential passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘obtainable’

• vinā: without
• vinā: Sambandha (Exclusion/अपादानार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपपद-अव्यय (preposition) — विना + तृतीया/द्वितीया; अत्र द्वितीया

• puṇyabhara-udayam: the rise of a mass of merit
• puṇyabhara-udayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya + bhara + udaya (पुण्य + भर + उदय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (पुण्यस्य भरः → पुण्यभरः; तस्य उदयः → पुण्यभरोदयः)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्त्यर्थक अव्यय

• kṣaṇam: for a moment
• kṣaṇam: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaṇa (क्षण प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; कालपरिमाण

• samādhāya: having composed/fixed
• samādhāya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-dhā (सम्+आ+धा धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund)

• manaḥ: mind
• manaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manas (मनस् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• munipuṃgavaḥ: the foremost sage
• munipuṃgavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni + puṃgava (मुनि + पुंगव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘मुनीनां पुंगवः’ = best of sages)

Speaker

Narrator (Skanda speaking to Agastya, inferred from Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (Contextual) audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A foremost sage pauses, eyes half-closed, gathering his mind; a subtle aura of stillness around him as he reflects on the rise of merit.

Characters & Entities

• Muni

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Extraordinary blessings are not accidental; they arise from accumulated puṇya and mature through reflection and discernment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśīkhaṇḍa framework implies Kāśī’s merit-producing power, though the verse itself speaks generally of puṇya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is mentioned; the verse points to the necessity of puṇya and the sage’s contemplative composure.