Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

अहो मोहस्य माहात्म्यमहो भाग्यविपर्ययः । निर्वाणराशिं यत्काशीं प्राप्य यांत्यन्यतोऽबुधाः

Transliteration

aho mohasya māhātmyamaho bhāgyaviparyayaḥ | nirvāṇarāśiṃ yatkāśīṃ prāpya yāṃtyanyato'budhāḥ

Translation

โอ้! อานุภาพแห่งโมหะช่างยิ่งใหญ่ และโชคชะตาช่างกลับตาลปัตรนัก เพราะแม้ได้ถึงกาศี อันเป็นคลังแห่งนิรวาณและโมกษะ คนเขลาก็ยังไปที่อื่น

Word by Word

• अहो: alas!/oh!
• अहो: Avyaya (Interjection/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अहो (अव्यय)
• Form: विस्मयादि-उद्गार (interjection)

• मोहस्य: of delusion
• मोहस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• माहात्म्यम्: great power/majesty
• माहात्म्यम्: Karta (Exclamatory subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• अहो: alas!/oh!
• अहो: Avyaya (Interjection/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अहो (अव्यय)
• Form: विस्मयादि-उद्गार (interjection)

• भाग्यविपर्ययः: reversal of fortune
• भाग्यविपर्ययः: Karta (Exclamatory subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाग्य + विपर्यय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• निर्वाणराशिम्: the heap/mass of liberation
• निर्वाणराशिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्वाण + राशि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• यत्: which
• यत्: Karma (Correlative/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

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

• प्राप्य: having attained
• प्राप्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त (gerund/absolutive), “having attained/reached”

• यान्ति: go
• यान्ति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural), परस्मैपद

• अन्यतः: elsewhere
• अन्यतः: Apadana (Source sense/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्यतः (अव्यय)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb), “elsewhere/from elsewhere”

• अबुधाः: the ignorant (people)
• अबुधाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अबुध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration, commonly Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrator-like voice laments as pilgrims, having reached radiant Kāśī, turn their backs and walk away into dusty roads—liberation glowing behind them like a treasure left unopened.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Moha
• Nirvāṇa (liberation)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Liberation may be near at hand, yet delusion drives people away; wisdom is to recognize and remain aligned with the highest good.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, explicitly praised as a concentrated source of nirvāṇa (mokṣa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicit; the stress is on right discernment and valuing Kāśī’s mokṣa-giving presence.