Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 67

Devanagari script

अद्य सद्यो महालाभावभूतां नोतिदुर्लभौ । त्रिनेत्रराजसंमानस्तथा काशी विलोकनम्

Transliteration

adya sadyo mahālābhāvabhūtāṃ notidurlabhau | trinetrarājasaṃmānastathā kāśī vilokanam

Translation

“ഇന്ന് ഞങ്ങൾ ക്ഷണത്തിൽ തന്നെ രണ്ട് മഹാലാഭങ്ങൾ നേടി; അവന്റെ കൃപയാൽ അവ ദുർലഭമല്ല—ത്രിനേത്രരാജന്റെ സന്മാനം, കൂടാതെ കാശിയുടെ പുണ്യദർശനം।”

Word by Word

• adya: today
• adya: Kālādhi karaṇa (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय

• sadyaḥ: immediately
• sadyaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadyaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (immediately)

• mahā-lābhau: two great gains
• mahā-lābhau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + lābha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (महान् लाभः), पुल्लिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (nominative/1st), द्विवचन (dual)

• abhūtām: have occurred
• abhūtām: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (aorist), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), द्विवचन (dual), परस्मैपद

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation)

• ati-durlabhau: not very hard to obtain
• ati-durlabhau: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati (अव्यय/उपसर्गवत्) + durlabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास (अत्यन्तं दुर्लभौ), पुल्लिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (nominative/1st), द्विवचन (dual)

• trinetra-rāja-saṃmānaḥ: honor from the three-eyed king (Śiva)
• trinetra-rāja-saṃmānaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri-netra (प्रातिपदिक) + rāja (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃmāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (त्रिनेत्रस्य राज्ञः संमानः), पुल्लिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• tathā: and likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (and/likewise)

• kāśī: Kāśī
• kāśī: Karma (Object of seeing/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• vilokanam: the seeing (of it)
• vilokanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vi-lok (धातु) / vilokana (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भाववाचक-नाम (action noun), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

Speaker

Yoginīs (reported within Skanda’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yoginīs proclaim that today they gained two great boons: Śiva’s honor and the blessed sight of Kāśī, as the city’s radiance appears on the horizon.

Characters & Entities

• Trinetra (Śiva)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Yoginīs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva’s honor and Kāśī-darśana are framed as supreme, grace-bestowed gains—spiritual value surpasses worldly attainment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī itself, praised as a vision-worthy sacred realm whose mere sight is a ‘great gain’.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse highlights darśana (sacred viewing) as spiritually potent.