Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 58

Devanagari script

धनिनो न तथा सौख्यं प्राप्नुवंति नराः क्वचित् । यथा निधनतः काश्यां लभते सुखमव्ययम्

Transliteration

dhanino na tathā saukhyaṃ prāpnuvaṃti narāḥ kvacit | yathā nidhanataḥ kāśyāṃ labhate sukhamavyayam

Translation

แม้ผู้มั่งคั่งก็หาได้บรรลุสุขเช่นนั้น ณ ที่ใดไม่ ดังที่ผู้ละสังขารในกาศีย่อมได้ปีติสุขอันไม่เสื่อมสลาย

Word by Word

• धनिनः: the wealthy
• धनिनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (negator)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• तथा: so/that much
• तथा: Sambandha (modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: रीत्यर्थक-अव्यय (adverb: 'so/thus')

• सौख्यम्: happiness
• सौख्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सौख्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• प्राप्नुवन्ति: attain
• प्राप्नुवन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• नराः: men/people
• नराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• क्वचित्: ever/anywhere
• क्वचित्: Adhikarana (circumstantial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: देश/काल-अव्यय (indefinite adverb: 'ever/anywhere')

• यथा: as
• यथा: Sambandha (connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमान/प्रकारार्थक-अव्यय (comparative: 'as')

• निधनतः: from death/at death
• निधनतः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निधन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• काश्याम्: in Kāśī
• काश्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• लभते: obtains
• लभते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• सुखम्: happiness
• सुखम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• अव्ययम्: imperishable
• अव्ययम्: Visheshana (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अव्यय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (sukham)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue context often Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (mokṣa-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages/seekers

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene deathbed scene in Kāśī: the dying devotee hears Śiva’s name; Gaṅgā flows nearby; Viśveśvara’s light appears, transforming the moment of death into a luminous passage; piles of gold fade into insignificance in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly prosperity is inferior to the spiritual fruit of Kāśī; the kṣetra grants an undying happiness especially connected with one’s final moment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as the famed mokṣa-giving sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is given; the teaching emphasizes the exceptional merit of ending one’s life in Kāśī.