Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 79

Devanagari script

यः काशीं संपरित्यज्य गच्छेदन्यत्र दुर्मतिः । तस्य हस्ततलाद्गच्छेच्चतुर्वर्गफलोदयः

Transliteration

yaḥ kāśīṃ saṃparityajya gacchedanyatra durmatiḥ | tasya hastatalādgaccheccaturvargaphalodayaḥ

Translation

جو بدفہم کاشی کو چھوڑ کر کہیں اور چلا جائے، اس کے ہاتھ کی ہتھیلی سے چار مقاصدِ حیات کے پھل کا طلوع ہی رخصت ہو جاتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• kāśīm: Kāśī
• kāśīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• saṃparityajya: having wholly abandoned
• saṃparityajya: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sam + pari + √tyaj (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having completely abandoned’

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• anyatra: elsewhere
• anyatra: Desha-adhikarana (Place adverbial/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anyatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• durmatiḥ: a wicked-minded person
• durmatiḥ: Pratipādya (Predicate nominal/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: durmati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• hasta-talāt: from the palm of the hand
• hasta-talāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hasta (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (hastasya talaṃ)

• gacchet: would depart
• gacchet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• catur-varga-phala-udayaḥ: the arising of the fruits of the four aims (dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa)
• catur-varga-phala-udayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: catur (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + varga (प्रातिपदिक) + phala (प्रातिपदिक) + udaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (caturṇāṃ vargāṇāṃ phalānām udayaḥ)

Speaker

Skanda (contextual attribution for Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogues)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A hand holding four symbolic fruits (scroll for dharma, coin for artha, flower for kāma, flame/lotus-light for mokṣa) slipping away as the person walks away from Kāśī’s ghats; Kāśī remains luminous behind.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Caturvarga (dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is portrayed as a rare place where all human aims mature; abandoning it causes those attainments to slip away.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), associated with fulfilling the caturvarga.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse gives a warning against leaving Kāśī.