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

Atau, tanpa terbitnya timbunan pahala yang agung, bagaimana mungkin sosok demikian dapat diperoleh? Demikian merenung, sang utama di antara para muni menenangkan batinnya sejenak.

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.