Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 95

Devanagari script

शशका मशका बकाः शुकाः कलविंकाश्च वृकाः सजंबुकाः । तुरगोरग वानरानरा गिरिजे काशिमृताः परामृतम्

Transliteration

śaśakā maśakā bakāḥ śukāḥ kalaviṃkāśca vṛkāḥ sajaṃbukāḥ | turagoraga vānarānarā girije kāśimṛtāḥ parāmṛtam

Translation

हे गिरिजे! ते ससा असोत वा डास, बगळा असो वा पोपट, कलविंका पक्षी, लांडगा व कोल्हा; घोडा, साप, वानर किंवा मनुष्य—जो कोणी काशीत मरण पावतो, तो अमरत्वरूपी परम अमृत म्हणजेच मोक्ष प्राप्त करतो.

Word by Word

• śaśakāḥ: hares/rabbits
• śaśakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaśaka (शशक प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन

• maśakāḥ: mosquitoes
• maśakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maśaka (मशक प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• bakāḥ: cranes/herons
• bakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: baka (बक प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• śukāḥ: parrots
• śukāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śuka (शुक प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• kalaviṃkāḥ: sparrows (kalaviṅka-birds)
• kalaviṃkāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalaviṃka (कलविंक प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• vṛkāḥ: wolves
• vṛkāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛka (वृक प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• sa-jaṃbukāḥ: (those) with jackals / along with jackals
• sa-jaṃbukāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sa (सह/स प्रातिपदिक ‘with’) + jaṃbuka (जम्बुक प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘जम्बुकैः सह’ (with jackals)

• turaga-oragāḥ: horses and serpents
• turaga-oragāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: turaga (तुरग प्रातिपदिक) + oraga (ओरग प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (horses and serpents)

• vānara-narāḥ: monkeys and humans
• vānara-narāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vānara (वानर प्रातिपदिक) + nara (नर प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (monkeys and men)

• girije: O Girijā (Pārvatī)
• girije: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: girijā (गिरिजा प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• kāśi-mṛtāḥ: those who died in Kāśī
• kāśi-mṛtāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (काशी) + mṛta (मृ धातु, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘काश्यां मृताः’ (those who died in Kāśī)

• param-amṛtam: supreme immortality/nectar
• param-amṛtam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parama (परम प्रातिपदिक) + amṛta (अमृत प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (‘परमं च तत् अमृतम्’)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Girijā/Pārvatī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A procession of diverse creatures—hare, mosquito, crane, parrot, kalaviṃka bird, wolf, jackal, horse, serpent, monkey, human—moving toward Kāśī’s luminous center, where a nectar-like radiance signifies immortality.

Characters & Entities

• Girijā (Pārvatī)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s sanctity is portrayed as universally liberating: death in Kāśī grants the highest state (paramāmṛta/mokṣa) regardless of species, emphasizing the unparalleled māhātmya of the kṣetra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), the famed Śaiva kṣetra celebrated in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa for its power to bestow liberation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite (snāna, dāna, japa, or vrata) is prescribed in this verse; it exclusively proclaims the salvific merit associated with dying in Kāśī.