Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 83

Devanagari script

यानि कानि पवित्राणि श्रुत्युक्तानि सदाशिव । तेभ्योऽधिकतरं चास्तु क्षेत्रमेतत्त्रिलोचन

Transliteration

yāni kāni pavitrāṇi śrutyuktāni sadāśiva | tebhyo'dhikataraṃ cāstu kṣetrametattrilocana

Translation

ഹേ സദാശിവാ! ശ്രുതികളിൽ പ്രസ്താവിച്ചിരിക്കുന്ന ഏതു പവിത്രകരങ്ങളുണ്ടോ, അവയെല്ലാംക്കാളും അധികം പാവനമായിരിക്കട്ടെ ഈ ക്ഷേത്രം, ഹേ ത്രിലോചനാ।

Word by Word

• यानि: whatever (things)
• यानि: Karma/Pratipadyam (Correlative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति; बहुवचन (rel. pronoun: neut nom/acc pl)

• कानि: any
• कानि: Karma/Pratipadyam (Correlative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति; बहुवचन (indefinite: 'any')

• पवित्राणि: holy, purifying
• पवित्राणि: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पवित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति; बहुवचन (agreeing with यानि)

• श्रुत्युक्तानि: stated in the Śruti
• श्रुत्युक्तानि: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रुति + उक्त (प्रातिपदिक; √वच्-धातोः क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति; बहुवचन (neut nom/acc pl); श्रुत्या उक्तानि = 'said in the śruti'

• सदाशिव: O Sadāśiva
• सदाशिव: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सदाशिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन विभक्ति; एकवचन (voc sg)

• तेभ्यः: than those
• तेभ्यः: Apadana (Comparison source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसक/पुं/स्त्री (सर्वनाम); पञ्चमी विभक्ति; बहुवचन (abl pl: 'than/from those')

• अधिकतरम्: greater, more excellent
• अधिकतरम्: Visheshana (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अधिकतर (प्रातिपदिक; अधिक + तरप्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (neut nom/acc sg; comparative)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• अस्तु: let it be
• अस्तु: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• क्षेत्रम्: sacred field/place
• क्षेत्रम्: Karta/Pratipadyam (Subject/predicate topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (neut nom/acc sg)

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Visheshana (Demonstrative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (demonstrative; agreeing with क्षेत्रम्)

• त्रिलोचन: O Three-eyed one
• त्रिलोचन: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिलोचन (प्रातिपदिक; त्रि + लोचन)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन विभक्ति; एकवचन (voc sg; 'three-eyed')

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic scale of purifiers—Vedic fires, sacred rivers, mantras—yet Kāśī shines above them as a radiant kṣetra under the gaze of Trilocana.

Characters & Entities

• Sadāśiva
• Trilocana (Śiva)
• Śruti (Vedas)
• Kṣetra (Kāśī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography can surpass even general Vedic purifications—Kāśī is upheld as uniquely supreme.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ‘kṣetra’ is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), addressed in a Śaiva devotional frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite; the focus is on the incomparable sanctity of the Kāśī-kṣetra.