Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

संसारभारखिन्नानां यातायातकृतां सदा । एकैव मे पुरी काशी ध्रुवं विश्रामभृमिका

Transliteration

saṃsārabhārakhinnānāṃ yātāyātakṛtāṃ sadā | ekaiva me purī kāśī dhruvaṃ viśrāmabhṛmikā

Translation

സംസാരഭാരത്തിൽ ക്ഷീണിച്ച് നിത്യവും വരവ്-പോക്കിൽ ഏർപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നവർക്ക് എന്റെ പുരിയായ കാശി മാത്രമേ ഉറപ്പായ വിശ്രമഭൂമിയാകൂ.

Word by Word

• संसार-भार-खिन्नानाम्: of those wearied by the burden of saṃsāra
• संसार-भार-खिन्नानाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संसार (प्रातिपदिक) + भार (प्रातिपदिक) + खिन्न (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √खिद्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (संसारस्य भारः; तेन खिन्नाः)

• यातायात-कृताम्: of those who keep coming and going
• यातायात-कृताम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यातायात (प्रातिपदिक) + कृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √कृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (यातायातं कुर्वन्ति ये)

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• एका: one, single
• एका: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• एव: only, indeed
• एव: Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• मे: my, of me
• मे: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम

• पुरी: city
• पुरी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• काशी: Kāśī
• काशी: Apposition (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ध्रुवम्: certainly, surely
• ध्रुवम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ध्रुव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण नपुंसक-एकवचन-प्रयोगः (adverbial accusative)

• विश्राम-भृमिका: a resting-place, a stage of repose
• विश्राम-भृमिका: Predicate nominative (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्राम (प्रातिपदिक) + भृमिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (विश्रामस्य भृमिका/भूमिका)

Speaker

Śiva (deduced; first-person 'me purī')

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (as Viśrānti-bhūmi)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage audience within Kāśī-māhātmya frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Weary travelers burdened by saṃsāra arrive at Kāśī’s ghats; the city appears as a calm terrace of rest, with Śiva’s protective presence assuring cessation of wandering.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Saṃsāra (concept)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is portrayed as the unique refuge where the exhaustion of worldly wandering finds rest and spiritual resolution.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Varanasi), singled out as the sure resting-place for beings troubled by saṃsāra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the practical counsel is to take shelter in Kāśī through residence, pilgrimage, and devotion.