Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

काशीप्राप्त्या भवेज्ज्ञानं ज्ञानान्निर्वाणमृच्छति । निर्वाणार्थं प्रयत्नो हि सदाचारस्य धीमताम्

Transliteration

kāśīprāptyā bhavejjñānaṃ jñānānnirvāṇamṛcchati | nirvāṇārthaṃ prayatno hi sadācārasya dhīmatām

Translation

കാശീപ്രാപ്തിയാൽ ജ്ഞാനം ഉദിക്കുന്നു; ജ്ഞാനത്തിലൂടെ നിർവാണം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു. അതിനാൽ മോക്ഷാർത്ഥം ബുദ്ധിമാന്മാർ സദാചാരത്തിനായി പരിശ്രമിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• kāśī-prāptyā: by attaining Kāśī
• kāśī-prāptyā: Karaṇa (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + prāpti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (attainment of Kāśī)

• bhavet: may arise/become
• bhavet: Kriyā (Predicate verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• jñānam: knowledge
• jñānam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; अत्र प्रथमा (subject)

• jñānāt: from knowledge
• jñānāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• nirvāṇam: liberation (nirvāṇa)
• nirvāṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nirvāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• ṛcchati: attains
• ṛcchati: Kriyā (Predicate verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ṛcch (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• nirvāṇa-artham: for the sake of liberation
• nirvāṇa-artham: Prayojana (Purpose)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nirvāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमासः; द्वितीया-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययवत् (for the sake of)

• prayatnaḥ: effort
• prayatnaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prayatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थ (indeed/for)

• sadācārasya: of good conduct
• sadācārasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sad-ācāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (good conduct)

• dhīmatām: of the wise
• dhīmatām: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhīmat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; मतुप्-प्रत्ययान्त (possessing intellect)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśī Khaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī / Avimukta-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage-like pilgrim on the ghats of Kāśī receives a ray of insight; the city’s temples and the Ganga form a luminous mandala, symbolizing knowledge ripening into nirvāṇa.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Jñāna
• Nirvāṇa
• Sadācāra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is praised as a field that awakens liberating knowledge; ethical conduct is the practical means toward that liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a direct cause of jñāna and nirvāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The prescription is ethical: cultivate sadācāra as sustained effort aimed at liberation.