Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 75

Devanagari script

श्रेयसां साधनान्यत्र पापघ्नान्यपि सर्वथा । परं हि परमश्चैष नियमो यस्त्वया कृतः

Transliteration

śreyasāṃ sādhanānyatra pāpaghnānyapi sarvathā | paraṃ hi paramaścaiṣa niyamo yastvayā kṛtaḥ

Translation

ഇവിടെ പരമശ്രേയസ്സിലേക്കുള്ള ഉപായങ്ങളും സർവ്വഥാ പാപനാശകമായ ആചരണങ്ങളും ഉണ്ട്; എങ്കിലും നീ അനുഷ്ഠിച്ച ഈ നിയമം പരമം, അത്യുന്നതം.

Word by Word

• śreyasām: of auspicious goods / of welfare
• śreyasām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śreyas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन — Genitive plural (of welfare/auspicious good)

• sādhanāni: means, instruments
• sādhanāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sādhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/प्रथमा or 2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन — Nominative/Accusative plural

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb: here)

• pāpa-ghnāni: sin-destroying
• pāpa-ghnāni: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + ghná (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन — Nominative/Accusative plural; तत्पुरुषः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: pāpasya ghnāni)

• api: also, even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — निपात (particle: also/even)

• sarvathā: in every way, always
• sarvathā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: in every way/always)

• param: supreme
• param: Visheshya (Predicate complement/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — Nominative/Accusative singular (used predicatively)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — निपात (emphatic particle: indeed/for)

• paramaḥ: the highest
• paramaḥ: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — समुच्चय (conjunction: and)

• eṣaḥ: this
• eṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Pronoun: Nominative singular (this)

• niyamaḥ: rule, observance
• niyamaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niyama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular

• yaḥ: which
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Relative pronoun: Nominative singular (who/which)

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/स्त्री (सर्वनाम), तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन — Instrumental singular (by you)

• kṛtaḥ: done, performed
• kṛtaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (भूतकर्मणि/कर्तरि क्त-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Past participle: done/made

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (typical frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene ascetic/pilgrim in Kāśī receives instruction that many practices exist, yet a particular niyama is supreme; the city’s ghāṭs and a Śiva shrine form the backdrop.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Jaigīṣavya
• Niyama
• Śreyas
• Pāpa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Among many meritorious disciplines, one particular observance is elevated as the highest—signaling a hierarchy of values rooted in devotion and right offering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the textual setting; the verse contributes to Kāśī’s mahātmya by presenting it as a place where supreme dharma is taught by Śiva.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The “supreme niyama” is referenced but not yet defined in this verse; the next verse clarifies it in terms of eating only after darśana/offerings.