Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

काशीप्राप्त्या भवेज्ज्ञानं ज्ञानान्निर्वाणमृच्छति । निर्वाणार्थं प्रयत्नो हि सदाचारस्य धीमताम्

Transliteration

kāśīprāptyā bhavejjñānaṃ jñānānnirvāṇamṛcchati | nirvāṇārthaṃ prayatno hi sadācārasya dhīmatām

Translation

کاشی کی حصول یابی سے حقیقی گیان پیدا ہوتا ہے؛ گیان سے نروان (حتمی نجات) حاصل ہوتی ہے۔ اس لیے اہلِ دانش موکش کے لیے سدآچار (نیک سلوک) کی کوشش کرتے ہیں۔

Word by Word

• kāśī-prāptyā: by attaining Kāśī
• kāśī-prāptyā: Karaṇa (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + prāpti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (attainment of Kāśī)

• bhavet: may arise/become
• bhavet: Kriyā (Predicate verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• jñānam: knowledge
• jñānam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; अत्र प्रथमा (subject)

• jñānāt: from knowledge
• jñānāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• nirvāṇam: liberation (nirvāṇa)
• nirvāṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nirvāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• ṛcchati: attains
• ṛcchati: Kriyā (Predicate verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ṛcch (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• nirvāṇa-artham: for the sake of liberation
• nirvāṇa-artham: Prayojana (Purpose)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nirvāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमासः; द्वितीया-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययवत् (for the sake of)

• prayatnaḥ: effort
• prayatnaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prayatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थ (indeed/for)

• sadācārasya: of good conduct
• sadācārasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sad-ācāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (good conduct)

• dhīmatām: of the wise
• dhīmatām: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhīmat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; मतुप्-प्रत्ययान्त (possessing intellect)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśī Khaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī / Avimukta-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage-like pilgrim on the ghats of Kāśī receives a ray of insight; the city’s temples and the Ganga form a luminous mandala, symbolizing knowledge ripening into nirvāṇa.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Jñāna
• Nirvāṇa
• Sadācāra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is praised as a field that awakens liberating knowledge; ethical conduct is the practical means toward that liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a direct cause of jñāna and nirvāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The prescription is ethical: cultivate sadācāra as sustained effort aimed at liberation.