Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

हरेराराधनं पुंसां किं किं न कुरुते बत । पुत्रमित्रकलत्रार्थ राज्यस्वर्गापवर्गदम्

Transliteration

harerārādhanaṃ puṃsāṃ kiṃ kiṃ na kurute bata | putramitrakalatrārtha rājyasvargāpavargadam

Translation

ഹരിയുടെ ആരാധന മനുഷ്യർക്കായി എന്തെല്ലാം ചെയ്യാത്തത്? അത് പുത്രൻ, മിത്രൻ, ഭാര്യ, സമ്പത്ത് നൽകുന്നു; രാജ്യം, സ്വർഗ്ഗം, ഒടുവിൽ മോക്ഷവും പ്രസാദിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• hareḥ: of Hari
• hareḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• ārādhanam: worship/propitiation
• ārādhanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ārādhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• puṃsām: of men/for people
• puṃsām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṃs (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• kim: what
• kim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; प्रश्न-सर्वनाम

• kim: what (all)
• kim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति-प्रयोग (emphatic repetition)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (in rhetorical question: ‘what does it not do?’)

• kurute: does/accomplishes
• kurute: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• bata: indeed!/alas!
• bata: Sambandha (Exclamation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bata (अव्यय)
• Form: विस्मय/खेदबोधक-निपात (exclamatory particle)

• putra-mitra-kalatra-artha: sons, friends, spouse, and (other) aims
• putra-mitra-kalatra-artha: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक) + mitra (प्रातिपदिक) + kalatra (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्वः (पुत्रादीनां समूहः)

• rājya-svarga-apavarga-dam: granting kingdom, heaven, and liberation
• rājya-svarga-apavarga-dam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rājya (प्रातिपदिक) + svarga (प्रातिपदिक) + apavarga (प्रातिपदिक) + da (√dā, धातु) + -m (प्रातिपदिक-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; उपपद-समास/तत्पुरुषः; कृदन्त ‘-दम्’ (ददाति इति) = ‘giver of’; विशेषण (ārādhanam इत्यस्य)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (general)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A household couple with a child offers flowers and lamp to Hari in a Kāśī shrine; behind them appear symbolic visions: a crown (kingdom), a celestial path (svarga), and a radiant gate (apavarga), all emanating from the deity’s grace.

Characters & Entities

• Hari

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion to Hari is portrayed as all-fulfilling—supporting both worldly welfare and final liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The statement is part of Kāśī-khaṇḍa’s devotional mahātmya, not a description of a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Ārādhana (worship/propitiation) of Hari—implying pūjā, stuti, and devotional service.