Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

अधाक्षिपमहं कामं त्रिजगज्जित्त्वरंदृशा । अहो काश्यभिलाषोत्र मामेव दुनुयात्तराम्

Transliteration

adhākṣipamahaṃ kāmaṃ trijagajjittvaraṃdṛśā | aho kāśyabhilāṣotra māmeva dunuyāttarām

Translation

Одним лишь взглядом я низверг Каму, покорителя трёх миров. И всё же — диво! — жажда Каши мучит даже меня ещё сильнее.

Word by Word

• adha: then
• adha: Kāla-viśeṣaṇa (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (काल/क्रमवाचक) = then/now

• ākṣipam: I repelled, cast away
• ākṣipam: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-kṣip (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist/Imperfect), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘आक्षिपम्’ = I cast away/repelled

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• kāmam: desire, Kāma
• kāmam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• trijagat-jit-tvaram-dṛśā: with a glance swiftly conquering the three worlds
• trijagat-jit-tvaram-dṛśā: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + jagat (प्रातिपदिक) + jit (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, जि धातु) + tvara (प्रातिपदिक) + dṛś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (बहुपद): त्रिजगत्-जित्-त्वरं (यस्याः) दृशा = with a glance that swiftly conquers the three worlds

• aho: alas!/ah!
• aho: Bhāva-prakāśa (Exclamation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: aho (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विस्मयादि-निपात) = exclamatory particle

• kāśī-abhilāṣaḥ: longing for Kāśī
• kāśī-abhilāṣaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + abhilāṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः: काश्याः अभिलाषः = longing for Kāśī

• utra: there
• utra: Deśa-viśeṣaṇa (Locative adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: utra/atra (अव्यय; पाठभेद)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक) = here/there; ‘उत्र’ = there (Vedic/archaic)

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• eva: indeed, only
• eva: Nipāta (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण-निपात) = emphatic particle

• dunuyāt: should torment
• dunuyāt: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: du-nu (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘दुनुयात्’ = should afflict/torment

• tarām: exceedingly
• tarām: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Intensifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tarām (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (तुलनार्थक/अतिशयार्थक) = more, exceedingly; प्रायः ‘तराम्’ = very much

Speaker

Hara (Śiva) (deduced; reference to burning/overpowering Kāma aligns with Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dramatic juxtaposition: Shiva’s third-eye glance reducing Kama (or symbol of desire) to submission/ashes, while simultaneously Shiva’s heart is drawn toward a luminous vision of Kashi—ghats, Ganga, and a linga—creating a paradox of conquered desire and sacred longing.

Characters & Entities

• Kāma
• Kāśī
• Hara (Śiva, implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly desire can be conquered, yet the ‘desire’ for Kāśī is framed as a higher, sacred yearning—an exalted pull toward liberation and sanctity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), celebrated as spiritually more compelling than even the forces that sway the three worlds.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; the verse serves as a theological praise of Kāśī’s power to awaken transcendent longing.