Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 91

Devanagari script

चराचरस्य सर्वस्य यानि कर्माणि तानि वै । गोचरे चित्रगुप्तस्य काशीवासिकृतादृते

Transliteration

carācarasya sarvasya yāni karmāṇi tāni vai | gocare citraguptasya kāśīvāsikṛtādṛte

Translation

ചരാചരമായ സമസ്ത സൃഷ്ടിയുടെ എല്ലാ കർമ്മങ്ങളും ചിത്രഗുപ്തന്റെ രേഖയിൽപ്പെടുന്നു; എന്നാൽ കാശിയിൽ വസിക്കുന്നവൻ ചെയ്ത കർമ്മങ്ങൾ മാത്രം അതിൽപ്പെടുകയില്ല.

Word by Word

• cara-acarasya: of the moving and unmoving (beings)
• cara-acarasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cara (प्रातिपदिक) + acara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, एकवचन; द्वन्द्वः (moving and unmoving beings)

• sarvasya: of all
• sarvasya: Visheshana (Genitive qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, एकवचन; ‘चराचरस्य’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• yāni: whatever
• yāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative pronoun)

• karmāṇi: deeds
• karmāṇi: Karta (Subject in equational clause/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• tāni: those
• tāni: Karta (Correlative subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; तदर्थक (correlative pronoun)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक/अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• gocare: within the scope
• gocare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gocara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘गोचर’ = range/sphere (locative: within the scope)

• citraguptasya: of Citragupta
• citraguptasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: citragupta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, एकवचन

• kāśī-vāsi-kṛta-ādṛte: excluding those done by residents of Kāśī
• kāśī-vāsi-kṛta-ādṛte: Apadana (Exclusion/अपादान-भाव)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + vāsin (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛta (कृदन्त) + ādṛte (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमास; ‘...-कृतम्’ इत्यस्य अपवादार्थक अव्यय ‘आदृते’ (excluding); अर्थः: काशीवासिभिः कृतम् वर्जयित्वा

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (kāśī-vāsa-mahima)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇa interlocutor

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Citragupta seated with palm-leaf ledger and stylus, surrounded by streams of deeds from all beings; a luminous blank space labeled ‘Kāśī-vāsa’ where entries do not appear, with Śiva’s subtle presence protecting it.

Characters & Entities

• Citragupta
• Kāśī-vāsin (resident of Kāśī)
• Karma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is portrayed as a liberating domain where ordinary karmic bookkeeping is overridden by the kṣetra’s grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), especially the merit of being a Kāśī-vāsin (dweller in Kāśī).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the implied practice is residence in Kāśī as a powerful religious observance (kṣetra-vāsa).