Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

ना बाधिष्ट तथा मां स तापो हालाहलोद्भवः । काशीविरहजन्मात्र यथा मामतिबाधते

Transliteration

nā bādhiṣṭa tathā māṃ sa tāpo hālāhalodbhavaḥ | kāśīvirahajanmātra yathā māmatibādhate

Translation

ഹാലാഹലവിഷത്തിൽ നിന്നുയർന്ന ആ താപം എന്നെ അത്ര പീഡിപ്പിച്ചില്ല; കാശീ-വിയോഗത്തിൽ മാത്രം ജനിച്ച ഈ ദുഃഖം എന്നെ അത്യന്തമായി വേദനിപ്പിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• abādhiṣṭa: afflicted
• abādhiṣṭa: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bādh (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; धातु: बाध् (to afflict)

• tathā: thus, in that way
• tathā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: रीतिवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: in that manner)

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; (me)

• saḥ: that (pain/it)
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (that/he)

• tāpaḥ: burning pain, torment
• tāpaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• hālāhala-udbhavaḥ: arisen from Hālāhala (poison)
• hālāhala-udbhavaḥ: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hālāhala (प्रातिपदिक) + udbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध: ‘हाला हलात् उद्भवः’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying tāpaḥ)

• kāśī-viraha-janmā: born of separation from Kāśī
• kāśī-viraha-janmā: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + viraha (प्रातिपदिक) + janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सम्बन्ध: ‘काश्याः विरहात् जन्म’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying implied tāpaḥ)

• tu: but, indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण/विरोधार्थक-अव्यय (but/indeed)

• yathā: as, just as
• yathā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमान/प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (as, in the way that)

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• ati-bādhate: afflicts exceedingly
• ati-bādhate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ati (उपसर्ग) + bādh (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; धातु: बाध्; उपसर्ग: अति (excessively)

Speaker

Śiva (Śrīkaṇṭha)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis at Naimiṣāraṇya (typical frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva, inwardly burning with the pain of separation from Kāśī, compares it to the Hālāhala poison; his throat bears the Nīlakaṇṭha mark, yet the deeper torment is devotional longing for the kṣetra.

Characters & Entities

• Hālāhala (poison)
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Separation from a liberating sacred space is depicted as a profound spiritual pain, underscoring Kāśī’s unmatched sanctity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), elevated above even cosmic ordeals like the Hālāhala poison episode.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse intensifies the māhātmya through comparison.