Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

हंसयानफलं मेद्य जातं काशीसमागमे । काशी प्राप्तौ यतः प्रोक्ता अंतरायाः पदेपदे

Transliteration

haṃsayānaphalaṃ medya jātaṃ kāśīsamāgame | kāśī prāptau yataḥ proktā aṃtarāyāḥ padepade

Translation

കാശീ സമാഗമത്തിൽ ഹംസയാനയാത്രയുടെ ഫലം വ്യക്തമായി; കാരണം കാശീ പ്രാപ്തിയിലേക്കുള്ള വഴിയിൽ പടിപടിയായി അന്തരായങ്ങൾ ഉണ്ടാകുമെന്ന് പറയപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• haṃsa-yāna-phalam: the fruit/result of the swan-vehicle (journey)
• haṃsa-yāna-phalam: Karta/Subject (Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: haṃsa (प्रातिपदिक) + yāna (प्रातिपदिक) + phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (हंसयानस्य फलम्)

• medya: pure/fit for sacrifice
• medya: Predicate (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: medya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (पवित्र/मेध्य)

• jātam: has arisen/occurred
• jātam: Kriya (Result state)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (जन् धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; भावे: ‘has arisen/occurred’

• kāśī-samāgame: at the meeting/arrival in Kāśī
• kāśī-samāgame: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + samāgama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (काश्याः समागमे)

• kāśī: Kāśī
• kāśī: Karta/Subject (Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• prāptau: upon attainment/at the time of reaching
• prāptau: Adhikarana (Occasion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāpti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; ‘प्राप्तौ’ = ‘प्राप्तौ (प्राप्ति-स्थाने/अवसरे)’

• yataḥ: because/since
• yataḥ: Connector (Cause)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतौ/यस्मात्-अर्थक-अव्यय (since/because)

• proktā: is said/declared
• proktā: Kriya/Predicate (Descriptive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच् धातु) उपसर्ग: प्र- + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; काशी इत्यस्य विशेषणवत्: ‘(काशी) said/declared’

• aṃtarāyāḥ: obstacles
• aṃtarāyāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṃtarāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• pade: at each step
• pade: Adhikarana (Locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति-प्रयोगः (pade pade)

• pade: at each step
• pade: Adhikarana (Locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; अव्ययीभाववत्-प्रयोगः (idiom)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (approach to Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic depiction of the road to Kāśī with repeated impediments—storm, rough paths, distracting temptations—contrasted with the serene swan-vehicle whose ‘fruit’ is realized upon reaching the city.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reaching Kāśī is spiritually weighty; therefore tests and obstacles commonly appear, making perseverance itself meritorious.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī/Vārāṇasī as a destination so exalted that the path to it is traditionally described as obstacle-filled.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No rite is prescribed; the implied discipline is steadfastness and resolve in pilgrimage.