Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

सा सुषुम्णा परानाडी त्रयं वाराणसीत्वसौ । तदत्रोत्क्रमणे सर्वजंतूनां हि श्रुतौ हरः

Transliteration

sā suṣumṇā parānāḍī trayaṃ vārāṇasītvasau | tadatrotkramaṇe sarvajaṃtūnāṃ hi śrutau haraḥ

Translation

وہ برتر نالی سُشُمنّا ہے؛ یہی تثلیث وارانسی کا روپ ہے۔ یہاں جان نکلتے وقت سب جانداروں کے کان میں ہَر (شیو) کی نجات بخش تعلیم سنائی دیتی ہے۔

Word by Word

• सा: she/that (f.)
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम-रूप

• सुषुम्णा: Suṣumṇā (central channel)
• सुषुम्णा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: suṣumṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• परा: supreme, higher
• परा: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण

• नाडी: channel, nāḍī
• नाडी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāḍī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• त्रयम्: a triad, threefold set
• त्रयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc. 1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); संख्यावाचक-शब्द

• वाराणसीत्वम्: the state of being Vārāṇasī (Vārāṇasī-ness)
• वाराणसीत्वम्: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārāṇasī + tva (प्रातिपदिक; तद्धित-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc. 1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); भाववाचक-तद्धित (त्व)

• असौ: that (one), yonder
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम-रूप

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc. 1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम-रूप

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• उत्क्रमणे: at the time of departing (from the body)
• उत्क्रमणे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ut-kramaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-भाव)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); 'उत्क्रमण' = प्राणोत्क्रमण/देहत्याग

• सर्वजन्तूनाम्: of all beings
• सर्वजन्तूनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva + jantu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle, emphasis/indeed)

• श्रुतौ: in the śruti (revelation)
• श्रुतौ: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śruti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• हरः: Hara (Śiva)
• हरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue, typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer/ṛṣi audience (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dying pilgrim in Kāśī lies near a ghat; Śiva, unseen to others, leans close to the right ear, whispering the liberating teaching; behind, the luminous subtle channel (suṣumṇā) is visualized as a vertical beam connecting earth to the crown.

Characters & Entities

• Suṣumṇā
• Vārāṇasī
• Hara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is portrayed as a liminal, yogic-sacred space where Śiva grants the liberating instruction at death.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī/Avimukta, where Śiva’s saving presence is specially accessible at the time of death.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal ritual; it refers to the salvific ‘hearing’ of Śiva’s teaching at the death-moment (antyakāla).