Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

जंतूनां कर्मबीजानां यत्र देहविसर्जने । न जातुचित्प्ररोहोस्ति हरदृष्ट्याप्तशुष्मणाम्

Transliteration

jaṃtūnāṃ karmabījānāṃ yatra dehavisarjane | na jātucitprarohosti haradṛṣṭyāptaśuṣmaṇām

Translation

ആ സ്ഥലത്ത് ജീവികൾ ദേഹം ഉപേക്ഷിക്കുമ്പോൾ—ഹരന്റെ ദൃഷ്ടിയാൽ ആരുടെ പ്രാണശക്തി ശുഷ്കമായോ—അവരുടെ കർമ്മബീജങ്ങൾ പിന്നെ ഒരിക്കലും മുളയ്ക്കുകയില്ല.

Word by Word

• जन्तूनाम्: of beings
• जन्तूनाम्: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्तु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन

• कर्मबीजानाम्: of the seeds of karma
• कर्मबीजानाम्: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्म + बीज (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—कर्मणः बीजानि (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb of place)

• देहविसर्जने: at the casting off of the body
• देहविसर्जने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह + विसर्जन (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; समासः—देहस्य विसर्जनम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात

• जातुचित्: ever/at any time
• जातुचित्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: जातुचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb), ‘कदाचित्/ever’

• प्ररोहः: sprouting/regrowth
• प्ररोहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्ररोह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अस्ति: is/exists
• अस्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• हरदृष्ट्याप्तशुष्मणाम्: whose vigor has been obtained (i.e., dried up/neutralized) by Hara’s glance
• हरदृष्ट्याप्तशुष्मणाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हर + दृष्टि + आप्त + शुष्मन् (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘कर्मबीजानाम्’विशेषणम्; समासः—हरस्य दृष्ट्या आप्तं शुष्मं येषाम् (बहुपद-तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारय-प्राय)

Speaker

Bṛhaspati

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī (antya-kāla-mukti context)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Maṇikarṇikā/Avimukta, a departing soul rises as Śiva’s compassionate glance falls; karmic seeds depicted as tiny sprouts that wither instantly; the scene is serene, not morbid.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (implied)
• Hara (Śiva)
• Karma-bīja
• Deha-visarjana (death)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is depicted as a mokṣa-kṣetra where the karmic mechanism of rebirth is cut at the root through Śiva’s grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī kṣetra (implied in the surrounding praise), as the place where karmic seeds cease at death.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse explains a salvific principle associated with dying in the sacred realm.