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Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 79

Devanagari script

वाराणसी स्फुरदसीमगुणैकभूमिर्यत्र स्थितास्तनुभृतःशशिभृत्प्रभावात् । सर्वे गले गरलिनोऽक्षियुजो ललाटे वामार्धवामतनवोऽतनवस्ततोंऽते

Transliteration

vārāṇasī sphuradasīmaguṇaikabhūmiryatra sthitāstanubhṛtaḥśaśibhṛtprabhāvāt | sarve gale garalino'kṣiyujo lalāṭe vāmārdhavāmatanavo'tanavastatoṃ'te

Translation

ヴァーラーナシーは、無辺の徳がきらめく唯一の地である。月を戴く主（シヴァ）の威力により、そこに住む有身の者は皆、喉には毒を担う者のごとく、額には三つ目の主のごとく、姿には吉祥なる左半身を分かつかのように変じ、ついには彼の無身の境地—解脱—に至る。

Word by Word
vārāṇasīVārāṇasī
vārāṇasī:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
TypeNoun
Rootvārāṇasī (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन
sphurat-asīma-guṇa-eka-bhūmiḥthe sole ground of shining limitless virtues
sphurat-asīma-guṇa-eka-bhūmiḥ:
Karta-sāmānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृसमानााधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootsphurat (कृदन्त) + asīma (प्रातिपदिक) + guṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + eka (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: 'स्फुरद्-असीम-गुणानाम् एका भूमिः'
yatrawhere
yatra:
Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootyatra (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय, देशवाचक (relative adverb)
sthitāḥstanding/being present
sthitāḥ:
Karta-sāmānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृसमानााधिकरण)
TypeAdjective
Root√sthā (धातु) + kta (क्त) → sthita (कृदन्त)
Formभूतकर्मणि कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; 'स्थिताः' = stationed/being
tanubhṛtaḥembodied beings
tanubhṛtaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Roottanu (प्रातिपदिक) + bhṛt (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष: 'तनुं बिभ्रति' = embodied beings
śaśibhṛt-prabhāvātdue to the power of the moon-bearer (Śiva)
śaśibhṛt-prabhāvāt:
Hetu (हेतु/Cause)
TypeNoun
Rootśaśin (प्रातिपदिक) + bhṛt (प्रातिपदिक) + prabhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'शशिभृतः प्रभावः' (Śiva's power)
sarveall
sarve:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeAdjective
Rootsarva (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन
galein the throat
gale:
Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootgala (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन
garalinaḥpoison-throated
garalinaḥ:
Karta-sāmānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृसमानााधिकरण)
TypeAdjective
Rootgaralin (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; 'गरलिन्' = having poison
akṣi-yujaḥhaving an eye
akṣi-yujaḥ:
Karta-sāmānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृसमानााधिकरण)
TypeAdjective
Rootakṣi (प्रातिपदिक) + yuj (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'अक्षिणा युक्तः' = endowed with an eye
lalāṭeon the forehead
lalāṭe:
Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootlalāṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन
vāma-ardha-vāma-tanavaḥwhose left half is the fair (female) body
vāma-ardha-vāma-tanavaḥ:
Karta-sāmānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृसमानााधिकरण)
TypeAdjective
Rootvāma (प्रातिपदिक) + ardha (प्रातिपदिक) + vāma (प्रातिपदिक) + tanu (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'वामे अर्धे वामा तनुः यस्य' (left-half is the lovely body)
atanavaḥbodiless/subtle
atanavaḥ:
Karta-sāmānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृसमानााधिकरण)
TypeAdjective
Roota-tanu (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; 'अतनु' = bodiless/subtle
tataḥtherefore/from that
tataḥ:
Discourse/Link (सम्बन्ध)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottataḥ (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय, तस्मात्-अर्थे (ablatival adverb)
antein the end
ante:
Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootanta (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; (पाठे 'अन्ते')
Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśī-khaṇḍa commonly presents Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vārāṇasī / Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (frame typical; not explicit)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic Kāśī: devotees living ordinary lives yet bearing subtle Śiva-signs—blue-tinged throat glow, a luminous third eye on the forehead, and an aura suggesting Ardhanārīśvara’s auspicious left side—finally dissolving into formless light.

Characters & Entities
V
Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
Ś
Śiva (Śaśibhṛt, the Moon-crested Lord)
A
Ardhanārīśvara motif (vāmārdha)

FAQs

Kāśī is portrayed as a uniquely transformative sacred space where Śiva’s grace makes devotees partake in His divine attributes, culminating in liberation beyond bodily limitation.

Vārāṇasī (Kāśī) itself is glorified as the supreme Śaiva kṣetra—an all-encompassing sacred geography rather than a single sub-tīrtha.

No explicit rite (snāna, dāna, japa, or vrata) is stated in this verse; it emphasizes the merit of abiding in Kāśī under Śiva’s influence leading toward mokṣa.

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