Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

इतराणीह तेजांसि भासंते तावदेव हि । खद्योताभानि यावन्नो जृंभते काशिजं महः

Transliteration

itarāṇīha tejāṃsi bhāsaṃte tāvadeva hi | khadyotābhāni yāvanno jṛṃbhate kāśijaṃ mahaḥ

Translation

ఇక్కడ ఇతర వెలుగులు అంతవరకే ప్రకాశిస్తాయి; కాశీ నుండి జనించిన మహిమ వికసించేవరకు అవి కేవలం మిణుగురుల కాంతిలా కనిపిస్తాయి।

Word by Word

• itarāṇi: other (things)
• itarāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: itara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Pl.)

• iha: here
• iha: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable; adverb of place)

• tejāṃsi: lights, splendors
• tejāṃsi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tejas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Pl.)

• bhāsante: shine
• bhāsante: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhās (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन (Present, Ātmanepada, 3rd, Pl.)

• tāvat: so long, only that much
• tāvat: Avyaya (Modifier/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय/प्रमाणवाचक)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/कालवाचक (indeclinable; measure/extent)

• eva: indeed, only
• eva: Avyaya (Modifier/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (indeclinable; emphasis/limitation)

• hi: for, indeed
• hi: Avyaya (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (indeclinable particle; causal/emphatic)

• khadyota-ābhāni: like fireflies (firefly-like)
• khadyota-ābhāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: khadyota (प्रातिपदिक) + ābhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (उपमान/सादृश्यार्थ); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Pl.)

• yāvat: as long as
• yāvat: Avyaya (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय/सम्बन्धबोधक)
• Form: अव्यय; यावत्-तावत् सम्बन्धे (correlative indeclinable: as long as)

• naḥ: of us/our
• naḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, बहुवचन (Genitive, Pl.; enclitic)

• jṛmbhate: expands, unfolds
• jṛmbhate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jṛmbh (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (Present, Ātmanepada, 3rd, Sg.)

• kāśijam: born of Kāśī, of Kāśī
• kāśijam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + ja (प्रातिपदिक/कृत्)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी: काश्याः जातम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Sg.)

• mahaḥ: great radiance, splendor
• mahaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Sg.)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśī-khaṇḍa context, Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ghaṭodbhava is addressed in nearby verses (contextual addressee)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A night-to-dawn transformation over Kāśī: countless lamps and stars fade as an immense, uncreated radiance rises from the kṣetra itself; fireflies hover near ghāṭa steps, dwarfed by the city’s spiritual glow.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s divine splendor eclipses all lesser attractions; true illumination is found in the sacred field of Kāśī.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a whole—presented as a uniquely radiant sacred kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse is a praise-statement (māhātmya) of Kāśī’s radiance.