Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 79

Devanagari script

वाराणसी स्फुरदसीमगुणैकभूमिर्यत्र स्थितास्तनुभृतःशशिभृत्प्रभावात् । सर्वे गले गरलिनोऽक्षियुजो ललाटे वामार्धवामतनवोऽतनवस्ततोंऽते

Transliteration

vārāṇasī sphuradasīmaguṇaikabhūmiryatra sthitāstanubhṛtaḥśaśibhṛtprabhāvāt | sarve gale garalino'kṣiyujo lalāṭe vāmārdhavāmatanavo'tanavastatoṃ'te

Translation

വാരാണസി അനന്ത ഗുണങ്ങൾ തിളങ്ങുന്ന ഏക ഭൂമിയാണ്. ചന്ദ്രശേഖരനായ ശിവന്റെ പ്രഭാവത്തിൽ അവിടെ വസിക്കുന്ന എല്ലാ ദേഹധാരികളും—കണ്ഠത്തിൽ വിഷധാരിയെപ്പോലെ, ലലാട്ടത്തിൽ ത്രിനേത്രനെപ്പോലെ, രൂപത്തിൽ ശുഭ വാമാർധത്തിന്റെ പങ്കാളികളെന്നപോലെ—അവസാനം അവന്റെ ദേഹാതീതമായ മോക്ഷസ്ഥിതിയെ പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• vārāṇasī: Vārāṇasī
• vārāṇasī: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārāṇasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• sphurat-asīma-guṇa-eka-bhūmiḥ: the sole ground of shining limitless virtues
• sphurat-asīma-guṇa-eka-bhūmiḥ: Karta-sāmānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृसमानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sphurat (कृदन्त) + asīma (प्रातिपदिक) + guṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + eka (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: 'स्फुरद्-असीम-गुणानाम् एका भूमिः'

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक (relative adverb)

• sthitāḥ: standing/being present
• sthitāḥ: Karta-sāmānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृसमानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √sthā (धातु) + kta (क्त) → sthita (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; 'स्थिताः' = stationed/being

• tanubhṛtaḥ: embodied beings
• tanubhṛtaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanu (प्रातिपदिक) + bhṛt (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष: 'तनुं बिभ्रति' = embodied beings

• śaśibhṛt-prabhāvāt: due to the power of the moon-bearer (Śiva)
• śaśibhṛt-prabhāvāt: Hetu (हेतु/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaśin (प्रातिपदिक) + bhṛt (प्रातिपदिक) + prabhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'शशिभृतः प्रभावः' (Śiva's power)

• sarve: all
• sarve: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• gale: in the throat
• gale: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• garalinaḥ: poison-throated
• garalinaḥ: Karta-sāmānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृसमानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: garalin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; 'गरलिन्' = having poison

• akṣi-yujaḥ: having an eye
• akṣi-yujaḥ: Karta-sāmānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृसमानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akṣi (प्रातिपदिक) + yuj (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'अक्षिणा युक्तः' = endowed with an eye

• lalāṭe: on the forehead
• lalāṭe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lalāṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• vāma-ardha-vāma-tanavaḥ: whose left half is the fair (female) body
• vāma-ardha-vāma-tanavaḥ: Karta-sāmānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृसमानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāma (प्रातिपदिक) + ardha (प्रातिपदिक) + vāma (प्रातिपदिक) + tanu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'वामे अर्धे वामा तनुः यस्य' (left-half is the lovely body)

• atanavaḥ: bodiless/subtle
• atanavaḥ: Karta-sāmānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृसमानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-tanu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; 'अतनु' = bodiless/subtle

• tataḥ: therefore/from that
• tataḥ: Discourse/Link (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, तस्मात्-अर्थे (ablatival adverb)

• ante: in the end
• ante: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; (पाठे 'अन्ते')

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśī-khaṇḍa commonly presents Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vārāṇasī / Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (frame typical; not explicit)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic Kāśī: devotees living ordinary lives yet bearing subtle Śiva-signs—blue-tinged throat glow, a luminous third eye on the forehead, and an aura suggesting Ardhanārīśvara’s auspicious left side—finally dissolving into formless light.

Characters & Entities

• Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
• Śiva (Śaśibhṛt, the Moon-crested Lord)
• Ardhanārīśvara motif (vāmārdha)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is portrayed as a uniquely transformative sacred space where Śiva’s grace makes devotees partake in His divine attributes, culminating in liberation beyond bodily limitation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī (Kāśī) itself is glorified as the supreme Śaiva kṣetra—an all-encompassing sacred geography rather than a single sub-tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite (snāna, dāna, japa, or vrata) is stated in this verse; it emphasizes the merit of abiding in Kāśī under Śiva’s influence leading toward mokṣa.