Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 92

Devanagari script

यत्पुण्यमश्वमेधेन यत्पुण्यं राजसूयतः । काश्यां तत्पुण्यमाप्नोतु त्रिरात्रशयनाद्यमी

Transliteration

yatpuṇyamaśvamedhena yatpuṇyaṃ rājasūyataḥ | kāśyāṃ tatpuṇyamāpnotu trirātraśayanādyamī

Translation

അശ്വമേധയാഗത്തിൽ ലഭിക്കുന്ന പുണ്യവും രാജസൂയയാഗത്തിൽ ലഭിക്കുന്ന പുണ്യവും—അതേ പുണ്യം നിയമനിഷ്ഠനായ ഈ വ്യക്തി കാശിയിൽ മൂന്നു രാത്രികൾ ശയനവ്രതം അനുഷ്ഠിച്ച് പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• yat: whatever/that which
• yat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (relative pronoun used adjectivally)

• puṇyam: merit
• puṇyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• aśvamedhena: by the Aśvamedha sacrifice
• aśvamedhena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśvamedha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; समासः—अश्व + मेध (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

• yat: whatever/that which
• yat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (relative pronoun used adjectivally)

• puṇyam: merit
• puṇyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• rājasūyataḥ: from (performing) the Rājasūya
• rājasūyataḥ: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājasūya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; समासः—राजन् + सूय (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

• kāśyām: in Kāśī
• kāśyām: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• tat: that
• tat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (demonstrative used adjectivally)

• puṇyam: merit
• puṇyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• āpnotu: may (he) obtain
• āpnotu: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• trirātraśayanāt: from (the observance of) sleeping for three nights
• trirātraśayanāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: trirātra-śayana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; समासः—त्रि + रात्र (द्विगु) + शयन (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

• ayam: this person
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ī: indeed/just
• ī: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ī (निपात/अव्यय; emphatic particle)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (नूनम्/एव-भावे बलार्थक)

Speaker

Viṣṇu (contextual: boon/assurance being heard by Śiva in the next verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience (ṛṣis/śaunaka-group typical)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim observing a three-night vow in Kāśī—sleeping on a simple mat near a ghat, lamps flickering, Gaṅgā flowing, distant bells from Viśvanātha; the city’s sacred aura implied as equal to royal sacrifices.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Aśvamedha
• Rājasūya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is proclaimed so sanctifying that simple residence there, undertaken with discipline, can equal the merit of great Vedic sacrifices.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), celebrated in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa as a supremely merit-bestowing sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An observance of residing/sleeping in Kāśī for three nights (trirātra-śayana) with self-restraint.