Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

तावत्स्थास्याम्यहं चात्र यावत्काशी मुने त्विह । प्रलयेपि न नाशोस्याः शिवशूलाग्र सुस्थितेः

Transliteration

tāvatsthāsyāmyahaṃ cātra yāvatkāśī mune tviha | pralayepi na nāśosyāḥ śivaśūlāgra susthiteḥ

Translation

「聖仙よ、カ―シー（Kāśī）が存するかぎり、わたしはここに確立して留まろう。宇宙の大壊滅の時でさえ、これは滅びない。シヴァの三叉戟の先端に堅く据えられているからだ。」

Word by Word

• तावत्: so long; until then
• तावत्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (परिमाण/अवधि-निर्देशक adverb: 'so long/that long')

• स्थास्यामि: I will stay/stand
• स्थास्यामि: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (1st person pronoun)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय-बोधक conjunction)

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक adverb: 'here')

• यावत्: as long as; until
• यावत्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधि-निर्देशक: 'as long as/until')

• काशी: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• काशी: Karta (Subject of implied 'exists/stands')
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मुने: O sage
• मुने: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तु: indeed; but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विरोध/विशेषार्थक particle: 'but/indeed')

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक adverb: 'here/in this world')

• प्रलये: in dissolution (pralaya)
• प्रलये: Adhikaraṇa (Location/occasion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रलय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (locative)

• अपि: even; also
• अपि: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/अपि-कार: 'even/also')

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध particle)

• नाशः: destruction
• नाशः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अस्याः: of her (of Kāśī)
• अस्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम्/असद्-प्रातिपदिक (सर्वनाम)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (genitive: 'of her/this')

• शिवशूलाग्र: the tip of Śiva’s trident
• शिवशूलाग्र: Sambandha (Qualifier in compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक) + शूल (प्रातिपदिक) + अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (शिवस्य शूलस्य अग्रं), प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (stem used as first member of next genitive compound)

• सुस्थितेः: of the firm/secure position
• सुस्थितेः: Sambandha (Genitive cause/ground)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुस्थित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (genitive)

Speaker

Śrī Viṣṇu

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī / Avimukta-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agnibindu Mahāmuni (and the broader frame’s interlocutors)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Viṣṇu (or the speaking deity) declares Kāśī’s imperishability; Kāśī visualized as a luminous city resting upon the sharp tip of Śiva’s trident, with cosmic waters of pralaya surrounding yet not touching it.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Śiva
• Śiva’s trident (śūla)
• Agni-bindu (Agnibindu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is proclaimed as eternally protected and metaphysically anchored in Śiva, making it a supreme field for liberation-oriented dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) itself is glorified as imperishable, even during pralaya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse establishes the eternal status of Kāśī as the basis for later tīrtha practices.