Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

नरो न रोगी यदिहाविहाय सहायभूतां सकलस्य जंतोः । काशीमनाशी सुकृतैकराशिमन्यत्र यातुं यततां न चान्यः

Transliteration

naro na rogī yadihāvihāya sahāyabhūtāṃ sakalasya jaṃtoḥ | kāśīmanāśī sukṛtaikarāśimanyatra yātuṃ yatatāṃ na cānyaḥ

Translation

ชายใดละทิ้งกาศี ณ ที่นี้—ผู้เกื้อกูลสรรพสัตว์ ไม่เสื่อมสูญ และเป็นคลังบุญเพียงหนึ่งเดียว—แล้วเพียรไปที่อื่น ชายนั้นแลป่วยแท้; มิใช่ไปแห่งใดแน่ชัด หากไปเพียง “ที่อื่น” เท่านั้น

Word by Word

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Nishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

• rogī: diseased
• rogī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rogin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• yat: which/that
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative)

• iha: here
• iha: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• avihāya: having abandoned
• avihāya: Kriya-visheshana (Converb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava√hā (हा धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘अविहाय’ = त्यक्त्वा (having abandoned)

• sahāya-bhūtām: having become a helper/ally
• sahāya-bhūtām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sahāya (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūta (भू धातु, क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण—‘सहायः भूता’ (having become a helper)

• sakalasya: of all
• sakalasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sakala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन; विशेषण

• jaṃtoḥ: of the creature/being
• jaṃtoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jantu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• kāśīm: Kāśī
• kāśīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• anāśī: imperishable
• anāśī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anāśin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (naraḥ understood)

• sukṛta-eka-rāśim: (Kāśī) the single heap of merit
• sukṛta-eka-rāśim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sukṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + eka (प्रातिपदिक) + rāśi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग [kāśī-विशेषण], द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—‘सुकृतानाम् एकः राशिः’

• anyatra: elsewhere
• anyatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anyatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: elsewhere)

• yātum: to go
• yātum: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (या धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (Infinitive), गमनार्थे

• yatatām: let them strive
• yatatām: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yat (यत् धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), बहुवचन (Plural), आत्मनेपद; ‘यतताम्’ = प्रयत्नं कुर्वन्तु

• na: not
• na: Nishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• anyaḥ: another (person)
• anyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘अन्यः (जनः)’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A physician-like sage points to Kāśī as the true medicine; a pilgrim with anxious eyes looks toward distant roads labeled ‘anyatra’, while Kāśī appears as a compassionate goddess-city offering shelter to beings.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• All beings (jaṃtu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

To abandon Kāśī after reaching it is portrayed as a kind of spiritual illness—rejecting what supports all beings and leads toward liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), called imperishable and universally helpful.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it is a strong admonition to remain devoted to Kāśī rather than seeking lesser alternatives.