Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 65

Devanagari script

तावद्गर्जंति पापानि ब्रहत्यादिकान्यलम् । यावन्नाम न शृण्वंति काश्याः पापाचलाशनेः

Transliteration

tāvadgarjaṃti pāpāni brahatyādikānyalam | yāvannāma na śṛṇvaṃti kāśyāḥ pāpācalāśaneḥ

Translation

బ్రహ్మహత్యాది మహాపాపాలు, కాశీ నామాన్ని వినని వరకు మాత్రమే గర్జిస్తాయి; కాశీ నామం పాపపర్వతాన్ని ఛేదించే వజ్రము వంటిది।

Word by Word

• तावत्: so long (until then)
• तावत्: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; कालपरिमाणवाचक (temporal adverb: 'so long')

• गर्जन्ति: roar, thunder
• गर्जन्ति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गर्ज् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• पापानि: sins
• पापानि: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• ब्रहत्यादिकानि: (sins) such as brahatyā etc.
• ब्रहत्यादिकानि: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रहत्य् + आदि + क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; समासः—आदि-तत्पुरुष (brahaty-ādi = 'beginning with brahatyā')

• अलम्: indeed, greatly
• अलम्: Nipata (निपात/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अलम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पर्याप्त्यर्थक/पर्याप्ति (particle: 'enough/indeed')

• यावत्: as long as
• यावत्: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; यावत्-तावत्-संबन्ध (correlative: 'as long as')

• नाम: indeed, just
• नाम: Nipata (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/अनुनासिक-निपात (particle: 'indeed/just')

• न: not
• न: Nipata (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation)

• शृण्वन्ति: hear
• शृण्वन्ति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; धातोः श्रु → शृणु/शृण्व्-प्रयोग

• काश्याः: of Kāśī
• काश्याः: Sambandha (षष्ठी/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• पापाचलाशनेः: of the thunderbolt that shatters the mountain of sins
• पापाचलाशनेः: Sambandha (षष्ठी/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप + अचल + अशनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (pāpācalāśani = 'thunderbolt to the mountain of sins')

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An allegorical vision: dark, roaring ‘sins’ as a mountain-like mass crumble when a thunderbolt inscribed with ‘Kāśī’ strikes; in the background, the luminous ghāṭas of Vārāṇasī and a distant Viśvanātha spire.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Brahmahatyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the gravest sins lose their force when one connects to Kāśī through nāma-śravaṇa (hearing/remembering its sacred name).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), praised as the destroyer of accumulated sin.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No external rite is specified; the emphasized practice is śravaṇa—hearing the holy name of Kāśī.