Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

सदैवाकुशलं तेषां ये त्वत्क्षेत्रपराङ्मुखाः । चतुर्दशापि वै लोकास्तेषां नित्यं पराङ्मुखाः

Transliteration

sadaivākuśalaṃ teṣāṃ ye tvatkṣetraparāṅmukhāḥ | caturdaśāpi vai lokāsteṣāṃ nityaṃ parāṅmukhāḥ

Translation

あなたの聖なるクシェートラ（カーシー）に背を向ける者には、常に不幸が付きまとう。まことに、十四の世界さえ彼らに対して永く背を向け、吉き支えを与えない。

Word by Word

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverb of time)

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)

• अकुशलम्: misfortune; inauspiciousness
• अकुशलम्: Karma/Predicate nominal (फल/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अकुशल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (Nom./Acc. sg.); भाववाचक (state of ill-being)

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी बहुवचन (Gen. pl.); सर्वनाम

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन (Nom. pl.); सम्बन्धबोधक यत्-शब्द

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

• त्वत्-क्षेत्र-पराङ्मुखाः: turned away from your holy region
• त्वत्-क्षेत्र-पराङ्मुखाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival predicate/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्वत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + पराङ्मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन (Nom. pl.); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (त्वत्क्षेत्रस्य पराङ्मुखाः = turned away from your sacred field)

• चतुर्दश: fourteen
• चतुर्दश: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्दश (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; अव्ययवत् समासान्त-प्रातिपदिक (numeral compound)

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

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक निपात (indeed, certainly)

• लोकाः: worlds
• लोकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन (Nom. pl.)

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी बहुवचन (Gen. pl.)

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव/क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण; नपुंसक एकवचन प्रथमा/द्वितीया (used adverbially: always)

• पराङ्मुखाः: turned away
• पराङ्मुखाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पराङ्मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन (Nom. pl.)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee turns away from the luminous city of Kāśī; the fourteen worlds (stacked cosmic planes) appear as distant, averted faces, while Kāśī shines with Viśveśvara’s aura.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Kṣetra
• Caturdaśa-loka (fourteen worlds)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverence for Kāśī-kṣetra is presented as spiritually protective; aversion to it is said to invite persistent inauspiciousness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī-kṣetra (Vārāṇasī), Śiva’s famed sacred field in the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the verse emphasizes inner orientation—being favorably disposed toward Kāśī-kṣetra.