Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

म्लेच्छा अपि सुतीर्थेषु ये मृतानात्मघातकाः । विहाय काशीं निर्वाण विश्राणांतेऽत्र भोगिनः

Transliteration

mlecchā api sutīrtheṣu ye mṛtānātmaghātakāḥ | vihāya kāśīṃ nirvāṇa viśrāṇāṃte'tra bhoginaḥ

Translation

แม้ชนต่างเผ่าพันธุ์ หากตาย ณ ทิรถะอันประเสริฐ—โดยมิใช่ผู้ฆ่าตนเอง—ครั้นละจากกาศีแล้ว ย่อมเสวยผลบุญ ณ ที่นี้ และได้รับการประทานนิรวาณอันประเสริฐสุด

Word by Word

• म्लेच्छाः: foreigners, barbarians
• म्लेच्छाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: म्लेच्छ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: even/also)

• सु-तीर्थेषु: at excellent sacred fords/places
• सु-तीर्थेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (सुतीर्थ = उत्तमं तीर्थम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), बहुवचन

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; relative pronoun

• मृताः: dead, having died
• मृताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृ (धातु) + त (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त/त-प्रत्ययान्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• आत्म-घातकाः: self-killers (suicides)
• आत्म-घातकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + घातक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (आत्मनः घातकाः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• विहाय: having abandoned, leaving
• विहाय: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वि-हा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• काशीम्: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• काशीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• निर्वाणम्: liberation, nirvāṇa
• निर्वाणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्वाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• विश्राणन्ते: they bestow, grant
• विश्राणन्ते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-श्राण् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन (पाठे ‘विश्राणांते’ = विश्राणन्ते)

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (here)

• भोगिनः: enjoyers, those who experience enjoyments
• भोगिनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भोगिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī su-tīrthas (Gaṅgā-ghāṭas within Avimukta)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Purāṇic audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A poignant riverside deathbed scene at a Kāśī ghat: an outsider pilgrim lies peacefully facing the Gaṅgā and a distant Śiva shrine; attendants chant; a luminous, compassionate presence of Śiva bestows release; the mood balances awe and tenderness.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Tīrtha
• Nirvāṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred tīrthas uplift all, regardless of origin, but self-harm (ātmaghāta) is a grave obstacle to auspicious destiny.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī and the wider network of su-tīrthas; Kāśī is implied as the central liberating field (mokṣa-kṣetra).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; it underscores the religious importance of dying in a tīrtha and the prohibition of suicide.