Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

यस्मिन्न्यस्ते महाभारे आवां स्वः स्वैरचारिणौ । निर्वाणश्राणनं कुर्वः केवलं काशिशायिनाम्

Transliteration

yasminnyaste mahābhāre āvāṃ svaḥ svairacāriṇau | nirvāṇaśrāṇanaṃ kurvaḥ kevalaṃ kāśiśāyinām

Translation

ആ മഹാഭാരം നീക്കപ്പെട്ടപ്പോൾ, ഞങ്ങൾ ഇരുവരും നമ്മുടെ സ്വർഗത്തിൽ സ്വൈരമായി വിഹരിച്ചു; കാശിയിൽ വസിക്കുന്നവർക്കു മാത്രമായി നിർവാണമോക്ഷദാനം ചെയ്തു.

Word by Word

• yasmin: in which
• yasmin: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी, एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• nyaste: when (it) was placed/laid down
• nyaste: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-√as (धातु) + nyasta (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle); सप्तमी, एकवचन; लोके सति (locative absolute sense)

• mahābhāre: in the great burden (great weight)
• mahābhāre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahābhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी, एकवचन; समासः—महान् भारः (karmadhāraya)

• āvām: we two
• āvām: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम; प्रथमा, द्विवचन

• svaḥ: our own
• svaḥ: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, द्विवचन (Vedic/epic variant for svau); आत्मीयवाचक (possessive)

• svairacāriṇau: moving freely / acting at will (both of us)
• svairacāriṇau: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svaira (प्रातिपदिक) + cārin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, द्विवचन; समासः—स्वैरं चरति (tatpuruṣa)

• nirvāṇaśrāṇanam: the bestowal/dispensing of liberation
• nirvāṇaśrāṇanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nirvāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + śrāṇana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—निर्वाणस्य श्राणनम् (genitive tatpuruṣa)

• kurvaḥ: we two do / perform
• kurvaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपद; उत्तमपुरुष, द्विवचन

• kevalam: only
• kevalam: Sambandha (Adverbial qualifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kevala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावेन प्रयोगः; अव्ययवत् (used adverbially)

• kāśiśāyinām: of those who dwell in Kāśī
• kāśiśāyinām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + śāyin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, बहुवचन; समासः—काश्यां शयितः (locative tatpuruṣa)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta/Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: After cosmic burdens are set down, Śiva and Śakti roam freely in their celestial domain, yet their gaze and grace are fixed upon Kāśī’s residents; a luminous thread connects heaven to the ghats, signifying mokṣa bestowed upon the city’s dwellers.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Śiva-Śakti (implied ‘we two’)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is portrayed as uniquely empowered: residence in Kāśī is singled out as a direct condition for receiving liberation’s grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī/Avimukta as a whole, celebrated as the special domain where liberation is bestowed.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse stresses the merit of ‘Kāśī-śayana’—dwelling in Kāśī.