Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 78

Devanagari script

धिग्धिक्पदं तु देवानां परं दृष्ट्वाऽत्र शंकरम् । लभ्यते यन्न निर्वाणं सर्वदुःखांतकृत्तु यत्

Transliteration

dhigdhikpadaṃ tu devānāṃ paraṃ dṛṣṭvā'tra śaṃkaram | labhyate yanna nirvāṇaṃ sarvaduḥkhāṃtakṛttu yat

Translation

Стыд, стыд даже высшему уделу богов,—если, увидев здесь Шанкару, не достигают той Нирваны, что прекращает всякую скорбь.

Word by Word

• dhik: fie!
• dhik: Bhava (Exclamation/भाव)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dhik (अव्यय)
• Form: निन्दार्थक-अव्यय (interjection)

• dhik: fie!
• dhik: Bhava (Exclamation/भाव)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dhik (अव्यय)
• Form: निन्दार्थक-अव्यय (repetition for emphasis)

• padam: state, position
• padam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र निन्द्य-विषय (object of ‘dhik’)

• tu: but, indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle: contrast/emphasis)

• devānām: of the gods
• devānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• param: supreme, highest
• param: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘पदम्’ इति विशेषण

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु) + ktvā
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययभाव (gerund): having seen

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• śaṃkaram: Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• śaṃkaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• labhyate: is obtained
• labhyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: labh (धातु)
• Form: लट्, कर्मणि (Passive), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• yat: which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative)

• na: not
• na: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• nirvāṇam: liberation, nirvāṇa
• nirvāṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nirvāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘लभ्यते’ इत्यस्य कर्म

• sarvaduḥkha-anta-kṛt: ending all suffering
• sarvaduḥkha-anta-kṛt: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + anta (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛ (धातु) → kṛt (कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-प्राय): सर्वदुःखानाम् अन्तं करोतीति; पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘निर्वाणम्’ इति विशेषण

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (emphasis)

• yat: which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; पुनरुक्त-सम्बन्धसूचक

Speaker

Devas (lamenting the insufficiency of mere divine status without liberation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī / Avimukta (Śaṅkara-darśana)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame listener(s)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A speaker laments: ‘Shame on even the highest divine rank’ if, after seeing Śaṅkara here, nirvāṇa that ends all sorrow is not attained; the scene contrasts glittering deva-splendor with the austere radiance of Śiva.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• Devas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Heavenly status is secondary; the true goal is nirvāṇa/mokṣa, the cessation of all suffering, gained through the Lord’s grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within Kāśīkhaṇḍa and implies the liberating environment of Kāśī where Śaṅkara is beheld.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the passage prioritizes liberation through darśana and right aspiration.