Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

इतराणीह तेजांसि भासंते तावदेव हि । खद्योताभानि यावन्नो जृंभते काशिजं महः

Transliteration

itarāṇīha tejāṃsi bhāsaṃte tāvadeva hi | khadyotābhāni yāvanno jṛṃbhate kāśijaṃ mahaḥ

Translation

یہاں دوسری تمام روشنیاں بس اتنی ہی دیر تک چمکتی ہیں؛ جب تک کاشی سے پیدا ہونے والا جلالِ عظیم ظاہر نہ ہو، وہ سب جگنوؤں کی سی جھلملاہٹ ہی معلوم ہوتی ہیں۔

Word by Word

• itarāṇi: other (things)
• itarāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: itara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Pl.)

• iha: here
• iha: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable; adverb of place)

• tejāṃsi: lights, splendors
• tejāṃsi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tejas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Pl.)

• bhāsante: shine
• bhāsante: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhās (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन (Present, Ātmanepada, 3rd, Pl.)

• tāvat: so long, only that much
• tāvat: Avyaya (Modifier/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय/प्रमाणवाचक)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/कालवाचक (indeclinable; measure/extent)

• eva: indeed, only
• eva: Avyaya (Modifier/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (indeclinable; emphasis/limitation)

• hi: for, indeed
• hi: Avyaya (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (indeclinable particle; causal/emphatic)

• khadyota-ābhāni: like fireflies (firefly-like)
• khadyota-ābhāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: khadyota (प्रातिपदिक) + ābhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (उपमान/सादृश्यार्थ); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Pl.)

• yāvat: as long as
• yāvat: Avyaya (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय/सम्बन्धबोधक)
• Form: अव्यय; यावत्-तावत् सम्बन्धे (correlative indeclinable: as long as)

• naḥ: of us/our
• naḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, बहुवचन (Genitive, Pl.; enclitic)

• jṛmbhate: expands, unfolds
• jṛmbhate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jṛmbh (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (Present, Ātmanepada, 3rd, Sg.)

• kāśijam: born of Kāśī, of Kāśī
• kāśijam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + ja (प्रातिपदिक/कृत्)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी: काश्याः जातम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Sg.)

• mahaḥ: great radiance, splendor
• mahaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Sg.)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśī-khaṇḍa context, Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ghaṭodbhava is addressed in nearby verses (contextual addressee)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A night-to-dawn transformation over Kāśī: countless lamps and stars fade as an immense, uncreated radiance rises from the kṣetra itself; fireflies hover near ghāṭa steps, dwarfed by the city’s spiritual glow.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s divine splendor eclipses all lesser attractions; true illumination is found in the sacred field of Kāśī.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a whole—presented as a uniquely radiant sacred kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse is a praise-statement (māhātmya) of Kāśī’s radiance.