Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

वाराणस्यास्तु ये भक्तास्ते भक्ता मम निश्चितम् । जीवन्मुक्ता हि ते नूनं मोक्षलक्ष्म्या कटाक्षिताः

Transliteration

vārāṇasyāstu ye bhaktāste bhaktā mama niścitam | jīvanmuktā hi te nūnaṃ mokṣalakṣmyā kaṭākṣitāḥ

Translation

“വാരാണസിയുടെ ഭക്തന്മാർ നിശ്ചയമായും എന്റെ ഭക്തന്മാരാണ്. മോക്ഷലക്ഷ്മിയുടെ കൃപാകടാക്ഷം ലഭിച്ചതിനാൽ അവർ തീർച്ചയായും ജീവന്മുക്തർ.”

Word by Word

• वाराणस्याः: of Vārāṇasī
• वाराणस्याः: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाराणसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषण-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम

• भक्ताः: devotees
• भक्ताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• ते: they/those
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• भक्ताः: (are) devotees
• भक्ताः: Predicate/Complement (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• मम: of me/my
• मम: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• निश्चितम्: certainly/definitely
• निश्चितम्: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नि-चित् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त) नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; वाक्ये निश्चयार्थे अव्ययीभावेन (as an adverbial predicate: certainly)

• जीवन्मुक्ताः: liberated while living
• जीवन्मुक्ताः: Predicate/Complement (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जीवत्-मुक्त (प्रातिपदिक; जीवत् + मुक्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण; कर्मधारयः (जीवन् एव मुक्ताः)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतु/निश्चय-अव्यय (particle: indeed/for)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• नूनम्: surely
• नूनम्: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नूनम् (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय-अव्यय (adverb: surely)

• मोक्षलक्ष्म्या: by the fortune of liberation
• मोक्षलक्ष्म्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्ष-लक्ष्मी (प्रातिपदिक; मोक्ष + लक्ष्मी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (मोक्षस्य लक्ष्मीः)

• कटाक्षिताः: glanced upon/favored
• कटाक्षिताः: Predicate/Complement (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कटाक्ष् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

Speaker

Śiva (Hara/Bhava)

Characters & Entities

• Vārāṇasī
• Kāśī
• Mokṣa
• Mokṣa-Lakṣmī (personified liberation-fortune)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion to Kāśī/Vārāṇasī is equated with devotion to Śiva and is portrayed as a direct cause of jīvanmukti through mokṣa-grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī (Kāśī), explicitly named and declared inseparable from Śiva’s own devotion.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the emphasis is on bhakti toward Vārāṇasī/Kāśī as the sustaining practice.