Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

निर्वाणलक्ष्मीं ये पुण्याः परिवांछंति लीलया । निरंतरसुखप्राप्त्यै काशी त्याज्या न तै नृभिः

Transliteration

nirvāṇalakṣmīṃ ye puṇyāḥ parivāṃchaṃti līlayā | niraṃtarasukhaprāptyai kāśī tyājyā na tai nṛbhiḥ

Translation

ผู้มีบุญทั้งหลายผู้ปรารถนา “ลักษมีแห่งนิพพาน” ดุจเป็นลีลา เพื่อให้ได้สุขอันไม่ขาดสาย ไม่ควรละทิ้งกาศีเป็นอันขาด

Word by Word

• निर्वाणलक्ष्मीम्: the fortune of liberation (nirvāṇa)
• निर्वाणलक्ष्मीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्वाण-लक्ष्मी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (निर्वाणस्य लक्ष्मीः)

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम

• पुण्याः: meritorious, virtuous
• पुण्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (ये इति)

• परिवाञ्छन्ति: desire, long for
• परिवाञ्छन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-√वाञ्छ् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• लीलया: playfully, with ease
• लीलया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लीला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन

• निरन्तर-सुख-प्राप्त्यै: for attaining uninterrupted happiness
• निरन्तर-सुख-प्राप्त्यै: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निरन्तर-सुख-प्राप्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (सम्प्रदान/प्रयोजन), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (निरन्तरं सुखं तस्य प्राप्तिः)

• काशी: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• काशी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• त्याज्या: to be abandoned
• त्याज्या: Kriya (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √त्यज् (धातु) + यत् (कृत्)
• Form: यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृत्य-विशेषणम् (gerundive); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम् (काशी इति)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• तैः: by them
• तैः: Kartr (Agent in passive/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• नृभिः: by men, by people
• नृभिः: Kartr (Agent in passive/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; अपादान/कर्तृ-समर्थ (तैः इत्यस्य विशेष्यः)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī or a principal interlocutor in Kāśī-khaṇḍa dialogue frame (context-dependent)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim-sage stands at dawn on a Gaṅgā ghat, facing the skyline of Kāśī’s temples; the city is portrayed as a luminous kṣetra that one should never leave, with a subtle aura suggesting ‘nirvāṇa-lakṣmī’.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Nirvāṇa (Liberation)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A sincere seeker of mokṣa should remain connected to Kāśī, the place praised as a direct support for unbroken spiritual happiness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), the foremost mokṣa-kṣetra in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the instruction is devotional-practical: do not abandon Kāśī while seeking liberation.