Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

सर्वेषां जंतुजातानां जनन्येकैक्काशिका । महामृतस्तन्यदात्री नेत्री च परमं पदम्

Transliteration

sarveṣāṃ jaṃtujātānāṃ jananyekaikkāśikā | mahāmṛtastanyadātrī netrī ca paramaṃ padam

Translation

సర్వ జీవజాతులకు కాశికే ఏకైక జనని; ఆమె మహామృత (అమృత) స్తన్యాన్ని ప్రసాదించి, పరమపదానికి నడిపించే నేత్రి.

Word by Word

• sarveṣām: of all
• sarveṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; सर्वनामसदृश-विशेषणप्रयोगः

• jantu-jātānām: of all living beings
• jantu-jātānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jantu (प्रातिपदिक) + jāta (√jan धातु, क्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन

• jananī: mother
• jananī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jananī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• ekā: one, unique
• ekā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (jananī)

• kāśikā: Kashika (Kashi as a motherly one)
• kāśikā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; काशी-सम्बद्धा (epithet)

• mahā-mṛta-stanya-dātrī: giver of the milk of great immortality
• mahā-mṛta-stanya-dātrī: Karya (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + mṛta (√mṛ धातु, क्त) + stanya (प्रातिपदिक) + dātrī (√dā धातु, तृन्/तृच्)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विधेय (predicate)

• netrī: guide, leader
• netrī: Karya (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: netrī (√nī धातु, तृन्/तृच्)
• Form: कृदन्त (कर्तृवाचक-तृच्); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विधेय

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपातः (conjunction)

• paramam: supreme
• paramam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (padam)

• padam: state, abode
• padam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (māhātmya exposition)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśikā (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kāśī envisioned as a divine Mother-figure or as the city itself radiating maternal warmth; streams of luminous ‘amṛta-milk’ flow symbolically from the city/temple toward beings; a path of light leads upward to ‘parama pada’.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśikā/Kāśī
• All beings (jantu-jāta)
• Paramam Padam (supreme state)
• Amṛta (nectar)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is portrayed as a universal, compassionate mother who nourishes beings toward immortality and liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśikā/Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), praised as the unique mother and guide to the highest goal.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse functions as a theological eulogy encouraging refuge in Kāśī.