Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

अश्वमेधसहस्रस्य लभ्यं विनिमयेन यत् । किं तेन तुल्यमन्यत्स्यात्पवित्रमथवा महत

Transliteration

aśvamedhasahasrasya labhyaṃ vinimayena yat | kiṃ tena tulyamanyatsyātpavitramathavā mahata

Translation

अश्वमेधसहस्रस्य यत् फलं विनिमयेन लभ्यं स्यात्, तेन किं तुल्यम् अन्यत् स्यात्—पवित्रं वा महत् वा?

Word by Word

• aśvamedha-sahasrasya: of a thousand Aśvamedha sacrifices
• aśvamedha-sahasrasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśvamedha (अश्वमेध-प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (सहस्र-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (अश्वमेधानां सहस्रम्)

• labhyam: obtainable
• labhyam: Pradhāna-viśeṣaṇa (Predicate complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: labh (लभ् धातु)
• Form: Potential passive participle/gerundive (यत्/तव्यत्-अर्थे), Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular; ‘obtainable’

• vinimayena: by exchange; by barter
• vinimayena: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vinimaya (विनिमय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular

• yat: which/whatever
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म) (correlative implied)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद्-सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular; relative pronoun

• kim: what?
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (किम्-सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular; interrogative pronoun

• tena: with that; compared to that
• tena: Karaṇa (Instrument/Comparison/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्-सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular

• tulyam: equal
• tulyam: Pradhāna-viśeṣaṇa (Predicate complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tulya (तुल्य-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular; predicate adjective

• anyat: anything else
• anyat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (अन्य-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• syāt: could be; would be
• syāt: Kriyā (Predicate action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: Liṅ-lakāra (Optative/विधिलिङ्), Parasmaipada, 3rd Person, Singular

• pavitram: pure; purifying
• pavitram: Pradhāna-viśeṣaṇa (Predicate complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pavitra (पवित्र-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; predicate adjective

• athavā: or else
• athavā: Sambandha (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: athavā (अथवा अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction (alternative)

• mahat: great
• mahat: Pradhāna-viśeṣaṇa (Predicate complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (महत्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; predicate adjective

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic scene where a thousand aśvamedha altars fade into the background while Kāśī’s sacred light remains singular and unsurpassed; priests and kings bow toward the kṣetra’s radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Aśvamedha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The kṣetra’s sanctity is beyond the calculable merit of grand rituals; holiness is presented as incomparable.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is implied as the ‘this’ whose purity and greatness exceed even massive sacrificial merit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Aśvamedha is referenced for comparison; no performance is prescribed—rather, the verse elevates the superior sanctity of the praised kṣetra.