Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

बृहस्पतेरिति वचो निशम्य स सहस्रदृक् । आयाद्द्रुततरं काशीं महापातकघातुकाम्

Transliteration

bṛhaspateriti vaco niśamya sa sahasradṛk | āyāddrutataraṃ kāśīṃ mahāpātakaghātukām

Translation

بِرہسپتی کے کلام کو سن کر ہزار آنکھوں والے دیوتا اِندر فوراً کاشی کی طرف لپکا—وہ کاشی جو بڑے سے بڑے گناہوں کو بھی مٹا دینے والی ہے۔

Word by Word

• बृहस्पतेः: of Bṛhaspati
• बृहस्पतेः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बृहस्पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन — Genitive Singular

• इति: thus
• इति: Vacana-prakāśaka (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरणसूचक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• वचः: speech; words
• वचः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वचस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative Singular

• निशम्य: having heard
• निशम्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-शम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having heard/after hearing’

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative Singular

• सहस्रदृक्: the thousand-eyed one (Indra)
• सहस्रदृक्: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र + दृश् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘सहस्रदृश्’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative Singular; बहुव्रीहिः ‘यस्य सहस्रं दृशः’

• आयात्: came; went
• आयात्: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-या (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन — 3sg aorist (parasmaipada)

• द्रुततरम्: more swiftly
• द्रुततरम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial accusative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्रुत + तर (प्रातिपदिक; तद्धित-तर)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative Singular; तुलनात्मक (comparative)

• काशीम्: to Kāśī
• काशीम्: Karma (Goal as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative Singular

• महापातकघातुकाम्: destroyer of great sins
• महापातकघातुकाम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of Kāśī/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महापातक + घातुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative Singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘महापातकानां घातुका’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra, the thousand-eyed, hastens toward Kāśī after hearing Bṛhaspati’s counsel; the city’s ghāṭas and spires appear as a luminous refuge against great sin.

Characters & Entities

• Bṛhaspati
• Indra (Sahasradṛk)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Turning toward Kāśī and its dharmic sanctity is portrayed as a powerful remedy even for grave karmic burdens.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a sin-destroying sacred kṣetra; the specific tīrtha is developed in the subsequent verses.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite here; the emphasis is on swiftly going to Kāśī under a guru’s (Bṛhaspati’s) guidance.