Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

एतान्यवश्यं संसेव्य नरः प्राप्नोति शाश्वतम् । अन्यत्तत्रैव यद्वृत्तं तदाख्यामि मुने शृणु

Transliteration

etānyavaśyaṃ saṃsevya naraḥ prāpnoti śāśvatam | anyattatraiva yadvṛttaṃ tadākhyāmi mune śṛṇu

Translation

ഈ ലിംഗങ്ങളെ ശ്രദ്ധയോടെ നിത്യമായി സേവിക്കുന്ന മനുഷ്യൻ നിശ്ചയമായും ശാശ്വതപദം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു. ഹേ മുനേ, അതേ സ്ഥലത്ത് സംഭവിച്ച മറ്റൊരു വൃത്താന്തം ഇപ്പോൾ ഞാൻ പറയുന്നു—ശ്രവിക്കൂ.

Word by Word

• etāni: these (things)
• etāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम-शब्दः (pronoun)

• avaśyam: certainly, necessarily
• avaśyam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: avaśya (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• saṃsevya: having served/associated with
• saṃsevya: Kriyā (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√sev (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृत्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यबन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having served/associated)

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• prāpnoti: attains
• prāpnoti: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√āp (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• śāśvatam: the eternal (state)
• śāśvatam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāśvata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेष्यरूपेण (as object)

• anyat: another (thing)
• anyat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; अनिर्णीत-विभक्ति (contextual)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb: there)

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle of emphasis)

• yat: which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• vṛttam: happened event, account
• vṛttam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛtta (प्रातिपदिक; √vṛt क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; भूतवृत्त/घटना (event)

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; निर्देश (that)

• ākhyāmi: I tell, I relate
• ākhyāmi: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√khyā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन

• mune: O sage
• mune: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8), एकवचन

• śṛṇu: listen
• śṛṇu: Kriyā (Imperative/आज्ञा)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (imperative), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra liṅga-samūha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Muni (sage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrator-sage setting in Kāśī: a sequence of revered liṅgas being worshipped by pilgrims; the storyteller gestures to begin a new episode ‘in that very place’.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya (implied by mune)
• Kāśī (implied)
• Pañcavaktra-liṅgas (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Consistent sevā/upāsanā of Kāśī’s Śiva shrines is portrayed as a direct path to enduring spiritual attainment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same local Kāśī shrine-complex of liṅgas described in the preceding verses (around Dharmeśa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Saṃsevanā—regular, devoted visitation and service (darśana, arcana, and reverence implied).