Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

अहोभाग्योदयो नृणामहो पुण्यसमुच्छ्रयः । एकस्यैव भवेत्सिद्धिर्यदेकत्रापि तिष्ठताम्

Transliteration

ahobhāgyodayo nṛṇāmaho puṇyasamucchrayaḥ | ekasyaiva bhavetsiddhiryadekatrāpi tiṣṭhatām

Translation

അഹോ, മനുഷ്യർക്കെത്ര ഭാഗ്യോദയം—അഹോ, പുണ്യത്തിന്റെ എത്ര മഹാസഞ്ചയം! ഒരേ പുണ്യസ്ഥലത്തിൽ സ്ഥിരമായി നിലകൊണ്ടാൽ പോലും ഒരാൾക്കെങ്കിലും സിദ്ധി ലഭിക്കാം।

Word by Word

• अहो: ah!
• अहो: Sambandha (Exclamation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अहो (अव्यय)
• Form: विस्मयादि-बोधक अव्ययम् (exclamation)

• भाग्य-उदयः: rise of good fortune
• भाग्य-उदयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाग्य (प्रातिपदिक) + उदय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘भाग्यस्य उदयः’

• नृणाम्: of men / of people
• नृणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन (Genitive plural)

• अहो: ah!
• अहो: Sambandha (Exclamation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अहो (अव्यय)
• Form: विस्मयादि-बोधक अव्ययम् (exclamation)

• पुण्य-समुच्छ्रयः: accumulation of merit
• पुण्य-समुच्छ्रयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक) + समुच्छ्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘पुण्यस्य समुच्छ्रयः’ (accumulation/heap of merit)

• एकस्य: of one (person)
• एकस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (Genitive singular)

• एव: only / indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्ययम् (emphasis)

• भवेत्: may occur
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (may be/should occur)

• सिद्धिः: success / attainment
• सिद्धिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• यत्: since / that
• यत्: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-प्रत्यय (relative pronoun: ‘since/that’)

• एकत्र: in one place
• एकत्र: Adhikarana (Place/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एकत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (locative adverb: in one place)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कारक अव्ययम् (also/even)

• तिष्ठताम्: let (them) remain
• तिष्ठताम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद (let them stay)

Speaker

Friends of the maiden (within the narrative), expressing wonder

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Purāṇic audience (not explicit)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A reflective proclamation: human fortune awakens; merit rises like a mountain; even one person attains success by remaining steadfast in one sacred place—visualized as a lone pilgrim in Kāśī with temple spires and the Ganga.

Characters & Entities

• Ratneśvara-liṅga (implied by context)
• Kāśī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steadfastness at a holy center and devotion concentrated in one place can yield great puṇya and spiritual accomplishment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (and, in immediate context, Ratneśvara), praised as a locus where merit and siddhi arise readily.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied discipline of ‘staying/abiding’ (tiṣṭhatām) at the sacred place—pilgrimage-residence/steadfast attendance—rather than a specific rite.