Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

कृष्णोप्यनेन संजानन्सांबं स्वसुतमौरसम् । अब्रवीत्कुष्ठमोक्षाय व्रज वैश्वेश्वरीं पुरीम्

Transliteration

kṛṣṇopyanena saṃjānansāṃbaṃ svasutamaurasam | abravītkuṣṭhamokṣāya vraja vaiśveśvarīṃ purīm

Translation

കൃഷ്ണനും ഇതിലൂടെ സാംബൻ തന്റെ യഥാർത്ഥ ഔരസപുത്രനാണെന്ന് തിരിച്ചറിഞ്ഞു പറഞ്ഞു—“കുഷ്ഠമോക്ഷത്തിനായി വൈശ്വേശ്വരി പുരി, അഥവാ വാരാണസിയിലേക്കു പോകുക।”

Word by Word

• kṛṣṇaḥ: Kṛṣṇa
• kṛṣṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि (also)

• anena: by this (means)
• anena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन

• saṃjānan: knowing/recognizing
• saṃjānan: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√jñā (धातु)
• Form: शतृ (Present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• sāmbam: Sāmba
• sāmbam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāmba (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• sva-sutam: his own son
• sva-sutam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + suta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘own’ + ‘son’), sāmbam इति कर्मणः विशेषणम्

• aurasam: born of his body (legitimate)
• aurasam: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aurasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (agreeing with sutam)

• abravīt: said
• abravīt: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √brū (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• kuṣṭha-mokṣāya: for release from leprosy
• kuṣṭha-mokṣāya: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (Dative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘leprosy’ + ‘release’)

• vraja: go
• vraja: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vraj (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन

• vaiśveśvarīm: (to) Vaiśveśvarī
• vaiśveśvarīm: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaiśveśvarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (agreeing with purīm)

• purīm: city
• purīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Kṛṣṇa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viśveśvarī Purī (Kāśī/Varanasi)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kṛṣṇa, composed and authoritative, instructs Sāmba to journey to Viśveśvarī Purī; Sāmba listens with renewed hope, the path to Kāśī implied as a sacred road.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa
• Sāmba
• Viśveśvara
• Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine grace often comes as guidance toward a sacred place where purification and restoration are ordained.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī (Kāśī), called the Vaiśveśvarī Purī—the city of Lord Viśveśvara (Śiva).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pilgrimage to Kāśī is prescribed as the means for kuṣṭha-mokṣa (release from leprosy).