Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

निर्वाणकमलाक्षेत्रं श्रीमदानंदकाननम् । महाश्मशानं सर्वेषां बीजानां परमूषरम्

Transliteration

nirvāṇakamalākṣetraṃ śrīmadānaṃdakānanam | mahāśmaśānaṃ sarveṣāṃ bījānāṃ paramūṣaram

Translation

ഇത് നിർവാണത്തിന്റെ കമലക്ഷേത്രം, ശ്രീമയ ആനന്ദകാനനം; എല്ലാ കർമ്മബീജങ്ങൾക്കും ഇത് മഹാശ്മശാനവും പരമ ഉഷരഭൂമിയും ആകുന്നു।

Word by Word

• nirvāṇa-kamala-ākṣetram: the field of the lotus of liberation
• nirvāṇa-kamala-ākṣetram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nirvāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + kamala (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (निर्वाणस्य कमलस्य क्षेत्रम् / निर्वाण-कमल-क्षेत्रम्)

• śrīmat-ānanda-kānanam: the glorious grove of bliss
• śrīmat-ānanda-kānanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrīmat (प्रातिपदिक) + ānanda (प्रातिपदिक) + kānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (श्रीमद् आनन्दकाननम् = glorious bliss-grove)

• mahā-śmaśānam: the great cremation-ground
• mahā-śmaśānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + śmaśāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (महच्च तत् श्मशानम्)

• sarveṣām: of all
• sarveṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th case), बहुवचन

• bījānām: of seeds
• bījānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bīja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), बहुवचन

• parama-ūṣaram: the supreme barren land
• parama-ūṣaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक) + ūṣara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (परमम् ऊषरम्)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Ānanda-vana / Mahāśmaśāna)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A paradoxical sacred landscape: lotus imagery of nirvāṇa and a blissful forest overlaying the blazing cremation ground; Śiva’s unseen presence sanctifies the scene; karmic ‘seeds’ shown as scorched grains unable to sprout.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī-kṣetra
• Mahāśmaśāna (great cremation-ground)
• Nirvāṇa
• Ānanda-kānana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is praised as a mokṣa-kṣetra where karmic seeds are rendered infertile—bondage is burned away like a cremation-ground consumes fuel.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), described by epithets such as Ānanda-kānana and Mahāśmaśāna.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed; the verse is a doctrinal glorification of the kṣetra’s liberating power.