Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

निर्वाणलक्ष्मीर्वृणुते तं निर्वाणपदाप्तये । यत्र कुत्रापि निधनं प्राप्नुयादपि स ध्रुवम्

Transliteration

nirvāṇalakṣmīrvṛṇute taṃ nirvāṇapadāptaye | yatra kutrāpi nidhanaṃ prāpnuyādapi sa dhruvam

Translation

ନିର୍ବାଣ-ଲକ୍ଷ୍ମୀ ମୋକ୍ଷପଦ ପ୍ରାପ୍ତି ପାଇଁ ସେଇ ଭକ୍ତଙ୍କୁ ବରେ। ସେ ଯେଉଁଠି କେଉଁଠି ମୃତ୍ୟୁ ପାଇଲେ ମଧ୍ୟ, ତାଙ୍କ ପାଇଁ ମୁକ୍ତିଦାୟି ଗତି ନିଶ୍ଚିତ ଧ୍ରୁବ ରହେ।

Word by Word

• निर्वाणलक्ष्मीः: the fortune/glory of liberation
• निर्वाणलक्ष्मीः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्वाण-लक्ष्मी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (निर्वाणस्य लक्ष्मीः)

• वृणुते: chooses
• वृणुते: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karman (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• निर्वाणपदाप्तये: for attaining the state of nirvāṇa
• निर्वाणपदाप्तये: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान/Recipient-Purpose)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्वाण-पद-आप्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (निर्वाणस्य पदम्) + तत्पुरुषः (पदस्य आप्तिः)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धबोधक-देशवाचक (relative adverb of place)

• कुत्र: anywhere
• कुत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कुत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्न/अनिश्चित-देशवाचक (interrogative/indefinite adverb of place)

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle: even/also)

• निधनम्: death
• निधनम्: Karman (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निधन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• प्राप्नुयात्: may attain/meet
• प्राप्नुयात्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-आप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic particle)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ध्रुवम्: certainly
• ध्रुवम्: Kriya-vishesana (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ध्रुव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (adverbial accusative: certainly)

Speaker

Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī / Avimukta-kṣetra (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhavānī/Devī (explicit in nearby verse 29.76; this verse continues the same descriptive discourse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An allegorical vision: Nirvāṇa-Lakṣmī (a serene, luminous goddess) placing a garland or lotus in the hands of a devotee, while the background shows Kāśī’s ghāṭas fading into a cosmic horizon, indicating liberation assured even beyond place and time.

Characters & Entities

• Nirvāṇa-Lakṣmī
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Mokṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion and merit connected with Kāśī are framed as liberation-oriented, culminating in assured spiritual attainment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī’s sacred economy of merit in general (as established in this adhyāya), promising nirvāṇa as the highest fruit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new rite is introduced here; it states the phala (result): attainment of nirvāṇa and certainty of the liberating outcome.