Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

वरं काशीपुरीवासी म्लेच्छोपि हि शुभायतिः । नान्यत्रत्यो दीक्षितोपि स हि मुक्तेरभाजनम्

Transliteration

varaṃ kāśīpurīvāsī mlecchopi hi śubhāyatiḥ | nānyatratyo dīkṣitopi sa hi mukterabhājanam

Translation

ਕਾਸ਼ੀਪੁਰੀ ਵਿਚ ਵੱਸਣ ਵਾਲਾ ਮਲੇਛ ਵੀ ਸ਼੍ਰੇਸ਼ਠ ਹੈ, ਕਿਉਂਕਿ ਉਹ ਸ਼ੁਭਤਾ ਨੂੰ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ। ਪਰ ਹੋਰ ਥਾਂ ਦਾ ਦੀਕਸ਼ਿਤ ਭੀ, ਸੰਸਕਾਰਿਤ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਵੀ, ਮੁਕਤੀ ਲਈ ਸੱਚਾ ਪਾਤ੍ਰ ਨਹੀਂ (ਤੁਲਨਾ ਵਿਚ)।

Word by Word

• varam: better
• varam: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग (adverbial 'better')

• kāśī-purī-vāsī: a resident of Kāśī city
• kāśī-purī-vāsī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + purī (प्रातिपदिक) + vāsī (वस् धातु, णिनि-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष)

• mlecchaḥ: a foreigner/barbarian
• mlecchaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mleccha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: particle (even)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle: 'indeed/for')

• śubhāyatiḥ: becomes auspicious; prospers
• śubhāyatiḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śubhāyati (शुभायति धातु/denominative from śubha)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation)

• anyatratyaḥ: one belonging to another place
• anyatratyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anyatratya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• dīkṣitaḥ: initiated
• dīkṣitaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dīkṣita (दिक्ष्/दीक्ष् धातु, क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) विशेषण

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: particle (even)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (indeed)

• mukteḥ: of liberation
• mukteḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• abhājanam: not a receptacle; unfit (recipient)
• abhājanam: Karta (Predicate nominal/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abhājana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśīpurī / Avimukta

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage audience seeking criteria of mokṣa

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A diverse group of Kāśī residents—pilgrims, ascetics, workers, and a foreigner/outsider figure—stand before Viśveśvara; a subtle aura of auspiciousness surrounds the resident, while a distant initiated ritualist elsewhere is shown without that luminous mokṣa-sign, emphasizing the verse’s inversion.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• mleccha
• dīkṣā (initiation)
• mukti (liberation)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s sanctity is portrayed as transformative beyond social identity, emphasizing place-based grace (sthāna-prabhāva) as a path toward auspiciousness and liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśīpurī (Vārāṇasī), upheld as a foremost mokṣa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dīkṣā is referenced but not prescribed; the verse stresses that mere initiation elsewhere is inferior to the liberating potency associated with Kāśī-residence.