Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 210

Devanagari script

अभिषिच्य महाबुद्धिः पौराञ्जानपदानपि । प्रसादीकृत्य पुण्यात्मा पुनः काशीमगान्नृपः

Transliteration

abhiṣicya mahābuddhiḥ paurāñjānapadānapi | prasādīkṛtya puṇyātmā punaḥ kāśīmagānnṛpaḥ

Translation

മഹാബുദ്ധിയുള്ള രാജാവ് അഭിഷേകം നടത്തി, നഗരവാസികളെയും ഗ്രാമജനങ്ങളെയും പ്രസാദിപ്പിച്ചു; ആ പുണ്യാത്മാവ് വീണ്ടും കാശിയിലേക്കു പോയി।

Word by Word

• abhiṣicya: having consecrated
• abhiṣicya: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi + sic (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय-भाव (Gerund), ‘having anointed/consecrated’

• mahā-buddhiḥ: (he) of great intelligence
• mahā-buddhiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + buddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (mahā buddhiḥ = ‘great intelligence’), कर्तृ-विशेषणवत् (epithet)

• paurān: townspeople, citizens
• paurān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• jānapadān: countryfolk, people of the region
• jānapadān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jānapada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• api: also
• api: Avyaya (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चय (also)

• prasādīkṛtya: having pleased/propitiated
• prasādīkṛtya: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prasādī + kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय-भाव (Gerund), causative sense ‘having made pleased/propitiated’

• puṇya-ātmā: the virtuous-souled one
• puṇya-ātmā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (puṇya ātmā = ‘one whose self is pure/virtuous’), कर्तृ-विशेषणवत्

• punaḥ: again
• punaḥ: Avyaya (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• kāśīm: to Kāśī
• kāśīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• agāt: went
• agāt: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: लुङ्-लकार (Aorist/Past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• nṛpaḥ: the king
• nṛpaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; apposition to subject

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A newly consecrated king, surrounded by ministers and citizens, sets out on a return journey to Kāśī; banners, drums, and orderly procession convey both royal vigor and pious intent.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• King (nṛpa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A ruler’s dharma includes righteous consecrations, pleasing the people, and seeking sanctity through return to Kāśī.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the destination repeatedly sought, underscoring its centrality as a purifier and sacred refuge.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Abhiṣeka/abhisecana (ritual consecration or anointing) is referenced.