Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

अन्यत्र योगाभ्यसनाद्यावज्जन्म यदर्ज्यते । वाराणस्यां तदेकेन प्राणायामेन लभ्यते

Transliteration

anyatra yogābhyasanādyāvajjanma yadarjyate | vārāṇasyāṃ tadekena prāṇāyāmena labhyate

Translation

अन्यत्र आयुष्यभर योगाभ्यासाने जे फळ मिळते, तेच वाराणसीत एका प्राणायामाने मिळते।

Word by Word

• अन्यत्र: elsewhere
• अन्यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (elsewhere)

• योग-अभ्यसनात्: from practicing yoga
• योग-अभ्यसनात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योग (प्रातिपदिक) + अभ्यसन (प्रातिपदिक; √अस्/√अभ्यस्-ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (योगस्य अभ्यसनम्) ablative ‘from/by practice of yoga’

• आदि: etc.
• आदि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आदि (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समाहारार्थक-अव्यय (etc., and the like)

• यावत्-जन्म: throughout life
• यावत्-जन्म: Adhikarana (Time-span/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यावत् (प्रातिपदिक) + जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावः (यावत् + जन्म) ‘as long as life’ (adverbial span)

• यत्: that which
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; relative pronoun

• अर्ज्यते: is obtained
• अर्ज्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अर्ज् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive): ‘is earned/obtained’

• वाराणस्याम्: in Vārāṇasī
• वाराणस्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाराणसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun

• एकेन: by a single
• एकेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; ‘by one’

• प्राणायामेन: by prāṇāyāma (breath control)
• प्राणायामेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राणायाम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

• लभ्यते: is obtained
• लभ्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive): ‘is obtained’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vārāṇasī (Kāśī/Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A yogin seated on a Kāśī ghat performs prāṇāyāma at dawn; breath visualized as subtle light merging with the city’s Śiva-aura; temples and Gaṅgā frame the scene.

Characters & Entities

• Vārāṇasī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Vārāṇasī is depicted as a spiritually intensified field where yogic effort yields accelerated results.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī/Kāśī, renowned as a liberation-oriented sacred city in the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Prāṇāyāma is explicitly mentioned as a recommended yogic practice whose fruit is magnified in Vārāṇasī.