Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

वाराणसीं स्मरहरप्रियराजधानीं त्यक्त्वा कुतो व्रजसि मूढ दिगंतरेषु । प्राप्याप्यजाद्यसुलभांस्थिरमोक्षलक्ष्मीं लक्ष्मीं स्वभावचपलां किमु कामयेथाः

Transliteration

vārāṇasīṃ smaraharapriyarājadhānīṃ tyaktvā kuto vrajasi mūḍha digaṃtareṣu | prāpyāpyajādyasulabhāṃsthiramokṣalakṣmīṃ lakṣmīṃ svabhāvacapalāṃ kimu kāmayethāḥ

Translation

ละทิ้งพาราณสี—ราชธานีอันเป็นที่รักของสมรหระ (พระศิวะผู้ทำลายกามเทพ)—แล้วเหตุใดเล่า เจ้าผู้หลง จึงพเนจรไปยังทิศไกล? เมื่อได้ “ลักษมีแห่งโมกษะ” อันมั่นคง ซึ่งแม้พรหมาและเหล่าเทพยังได้ยากแล้ว ไฉนยังปรารถนา “ลักษมีโลกีย์” ผู้แปรปรวนโดยสันดานอีกเล่า

Word by Word

• vārāṇasīm: Vārāṇasī
• vārāṇasīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārāṇasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• smara-hara-priya-rāja-dhānīm: the beloved capital of Smarahara (Śiva)
• smara-hara-priya-rāja-dhānīm: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: smara (प्रातिपदिक) + hara (प्रातिपदिक) + priya (प्रातिपदिक) + rāja (प्रातिपदिक) + dhānī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (स्मरहरस्य प्रिया राजधानी) विशेषण (of vārāṇasīm)

• tyaktvā: having left
• tyaktvā: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tyaj (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having abandoned)

• kutaḥ: why? whither from?
• kutaḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kutaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नार्थक (interrogative adverb: whence/why)

• vrajasi: do you go
• vrajasi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vraj (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन

• mūḍha: O fool
• mūḍha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūḍha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

• dik-antara-eṣu: in other directions/places
• dik-antara-eṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: diś (प्रातिपदिक) + antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (दिशाम् अन्तरेषु = in other regions/directions)

• prāpya: having obtained
• prāpya: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prā-āp (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-प्राय (absolutive/gerund); ‘having obtained’

• api: even
• api: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• ajādi-asulabhām: hard to obtain even for Brahmā and others
• ajādi-asulabhām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aja (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + asulabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (अजादिभिः असुलभा) विशेषण (of sthiramokṣalakṣmīm)

• sthira-mokṣa-lakṣmīm: the steady fortune of liberation
• sthira-mokṣa-lakṣmīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthira (प्रातिपदिक) + mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + lakṣmī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (मोक्षस्य लक्ष्मीः) कर्मधारय-भाव (स्थिरा)

• lakṣmīm: fortune, prosperity
• lakṣmīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣmī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति/अप्पोजिशन (apposition to sthiramokṣalakṣmīm)

• svabhāva-capalām: fickle by nature
• svabhāva-capalām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svabhāva (प्रातिपदिक) + capala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (स्वभावेन चपला) विशेषण (of lakṣmīm)

• kimu: then why?/how much more?
• kimu: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim u (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्न/अधिकप्रश्नार्थक निपात (interrogative particle: how much more?/why then?)

• kāmayethāḥ: would you desire
• kāmayethāḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), आत्मनेपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Kāśī-khaṇḍa dialogic frame: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A wavering pilgrim/seeker archetype addressed as ‘mūḍha’ (deluded)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim stands at a crossroads: one path leads to distant lands with symbols of wealth and trade; the other leads to Kāśī’s ghats and Viśvanātha temple. Above Kāśī, Śiva as Smarahara presides like a king; beside him, Mokṣa-Lakṣmī stands steady and luminous, while worldly Lakṣmī appears restless and fleeting.

Characters & Entities

• Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
• Smarahara (Śiva)
• Smara (Kāma)
• Brahmā (Aja)
• Lakṣmī (prosperity)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Choose the steady wealth of mokṣa available in Kāśī over unstable worldly prosperity; do not abandon the liberating dhāma for aimless wandering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī (Kāśī), praised as the beloved capital of Śiva (Smarahara) and a unique bestower of firm liberation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed in this verse; it is primarily a mahātmya-based exhortation toward residence/steadfastness in Kāśī and renunciation of worldly aims.