Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

काश्यां रुद्रस्थली सा तु पठ्यते वेदवादिभिः । रुद्रस्थल्यां मृता ये वै कृमिकीटपतंगकाः

Transliteration

kāśyāṃ rudrasthalī sā tu paṭhyate vedavādibhiḥ | rudrasthalyāṃ mṛtā ye vai kṛmikīṭapataṃgakāḥ

Translation

ในกาศี สถานที่นั้นเป็นที่กล่าวขานในหมู่นักอธิบายพระเวทว่า “รุทระสถลี” แม้หนอน แมลง และผีเสื้อกลางคืนที่ตายในรุทระสถลี…

Word by Word

• काश्याम्: in Kāśī
• काश्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (अधिकरण), एकवचनम्

• रुद्रस्थली: Rudra’s sacred ground
• रुद्रस्थली: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र + स्थली (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः—रुद्रस्य स्थली

• सा: that (she/it)
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निपातः (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थकः

• पठ्यते: is recited/called
• पठ्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पठ् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, आत्मनेपदम्; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (is recited/called)

• वेदवादिभिः: by the expounders of the Veda
• वेदवादिभिः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद + वादिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (कर्ता/करण), बहुवचनम्; समासः—वेदं वदन्ति ये

• रुद्रस्थल्याम्: in Rudrasthalī
• रुद्रस्थल्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र + स्थली (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (अधिकरण), एकवचनम्

• मृताः: dead / having died
• मृताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्तः (क्त), पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम् (ये)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; सम्बन्धसूचकः (relative pronoun)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निपातः (emphatic particle)

• कृमिकीटपतंगकाः: worms, insects, and moths/flies
• कृमिकीटपतंगकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृमि + कीट + पतंगक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (worms, insects, moths/flies)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rudrasthalī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Not stated in the provided excerpt

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sages proclaim the fame of Rudrasthalī; the scene shifts to tiny creatures—worms and moths—passing away within the sacred boundary, bathed in a gentle Rudra-light that suggests liberation rather than fear.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Rudrasthalī
• Veda expounders (Veda-vādins)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The sanctity of Kāśī is depicted as so great that even the lowest forms of life benefit from contact with its sacred ground.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Rudrasthalī in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the verse begins a teaching on the salvific power of dying within Rudrasthalī.