Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

बृहस्पतेरिति वचो निशम्य स सहस्रदृक् । आयाद्द्रुततरं काशीं महापातकघातुकाम्

Transliteration

bṛhaspateriti vaco niśamya sa sahasradṛk | āyāddrutataraṃ kāśīṃ mahāpātakaghātukām

Translation

பிருகஸ்பதியின் வாக்கைக் கேட்ட ஆயிரக்கண் சசீபதி இந்திரன் உடனே காசிக்குச் சென்றான்—அது மகாபாதகங்களையும் அழிக்கும் புனிதத் தலம்.

Word by Word

• बृहस्पतेः: of Bṛhaspati
• बृहस्पतेः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बृहस्पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन — Genitive Singular

• इति: thus
• इति: Vacana-prakāśaka (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरणसूचक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• वचः: speech; words
• वचः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वचस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative Singular

• निशम्य: having heard
• निशम्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-शम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having heard/after hearing’

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

• सहस्रदृक्: the thousand-eyed one (Indra)
• सहस्रदृक्: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र + दृश् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘सहस्रदृश्’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative Singular; बहुव्रीहिः ‘यस्य सहस्रं दृशः’

• आयात्: came; went
• आयात्: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-या (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन — 3sg aorist (parasmaipada)

• द्रुततरम्: more swiftly
• द्रुततरम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial accusative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्रुत + तर (प्रातिपदिक; तद्धित-तर)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative Singular; तुलनात्मक (comparative)

• काशीम्: to Kāśī
• काशीम्: Karma (Goal as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative Singular

• महापातकघातुकाम्: destroyer of great sins
• महापातकघातुकाम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of Kāśī/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महापातक + घातुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative Singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘महापातकानां घातुका’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra, the thousand-eyed, hastens toward Kāśī after hearing Bṛhaspati’s counsel; the city’s ghāṭas and spires appear as a luminous refuge against great sin.

Characters & Entities

• Bṛhaspati
• Indra (Sahasradṛk)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Turning toward Kāśī and its dharmic sanctity is portrayed as a powerful remedy even for grave karmic burdens.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a sin-destroying sacred kṣetra; the specific tīrtha is developed in the subsequent verses.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite here; the emphasis is on swiftly going to Kāśī under a guru’s (Bṛhaspati’s) guidance.