Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

हरेराराधनं पुंसां किं किं न कुरुते बत । पुत्रमित्रकलत्रार्थ राज्यस्वर्गापवर्गदम्

Transliteration

harerārādhanaṃ puṃsāṃ kiṃ kiṃ na kurute bata | putramitrakalatrārtha rājyasvargāpavargadam

Translation

ہری کی عبادت انسانوں کے لیے کیا کچھ نہیں کر دیتی! یہ بیٹے، دوست، شریکِ حیات اور خوشحالی عطا کرتی ہے؛ بادشاہت، سُوَرگ اور اپورگ—یعنی موکش بھی بخشتی ہے۔

Word by Word

• hareḥ: of Hari
• hareḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• ārādhanam: worship/propitiation
• ārādhanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ārādhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• puṃsām: of men/for people
• puṃsām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṃs (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• kim: what
• kim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; प्रश्न-सर्वनाम

• kim: what (all)
• kim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति-प्रयोग (emphatic repetition)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (in rhetorical question: ‘what does it not do?’)

• kurute: does/accomplishes
• kurute: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• bata: indeed!/alas!
• bata: Sambandha (Exclamation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bata (अव्यय)
• Form: विस्मय/खेदबोधक-निपात (exclamatory particle)

• putra-mitra-kalatra-artha: sons, friends, spouse, and (other) aims
• putra-mitra-kalatra-artha: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक) + mitra (प्रातिपदिक) + kalatra (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्वः (पुत्रादीनां समूहः)

• rājya-svarga-apavarga-dam: granting kingdom, heaven, and liberation
• rājya-svarga-apavarga-dam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rājya (प्रातिपदिक) + svarga (प्रातिपदिक) + apavarga (प्रातिपदिक) + da (√dā, धातु) + -m (प्रातिपदिक-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; उपपद-समास/तत्पुरुषः; कृदन्त ‘-दम्’ (ददाति इति) = ‘giver of’; विशेषण (ārādhanam इत्यस्य)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (general)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A household couple with a child offers flowers and lamp to Hari in a Kāśī shrine; behind them appear symbolic visions: a crown (kingdom), a celestial path (svarga), and a radiant gate (apavarga), all emanating from the deity’s grace.

Characters & Entities

• Hari

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion to Hari is portrayed as all-fulfilling—supporting both worldly welfare and final liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The statement is part of Kāśī-khaṇḍa’s devotional mahātmya, not a description of a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Ārādhana (worship/propitiation) of Hari—implying pūjā, stuti, and devotional service.