Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 91

Devanagari script

चराचरस्य सर्वस्य यानि कर्माणि तानि वै । गोचरे चित्रगुप्तस्य काशीवासिकृतादृते

Transliteration

carācarasya sarvasya yāni karmāṇi tāni vai | gocare citraguptasya kāśīvāsikṛtādṛte

Translation

Mọi nghiệp hạnh của toàn thể chúng sinh động và bất động đều nằm trong phạm vi ghi chép của Citragupta—trừ những nghiệp do người cư trú tại Kāśī tạo ra.

Word by Word

• cara-acarasya: of the moving and unmoving (beings)
• cara-acarasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cara (प्रातिपदिक) + acara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, एकवचन; द्वन्द्वः (moving and unmoving beings)

• sarvasya: of all
• sarvasya: Visheshana (Genitive qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, एकवचन; ‘चराचरस्य’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• yāni: whatever
• yāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative pronoun)

• karmāṇi: deeds
• karmāṇi: Karta (Subject in equational clause/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• tāni: those
• tāni: Karta (Correlative subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; तदर्थक (correlative pronoun)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक/अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• gocare: within the scope
• gocare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gocara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘गोचर’ = range/sphere (locative: within the scope)

• citraguptasya: of Citragupta
• citraguptasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: citragupta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, एकवचन

• kāśī-vāsi-kṛta-ādṛte: excluding those done by residents of Kāśī
• kāśī-vāsi-kṛta-ādṛte: Apadana (Exclusion/अपादान-भाव)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + vāsin (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛta (कृदन्त) + ādṛte (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमास; ‘...-कृतम्’ इत्यस्य अपवादार्थक अव्यय ‘आदृते’ (excluding); अर्थः: काशीवासिभिः कृतम् वर्जयित्वा

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (kāśī-vāsa-mahima)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇa interlocutor

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Citragupta seated with palm-leaf ledger and stylus, surrounded by streams of deeds from all beings; a luminous blank space labeled ‘Kāśī-vāsa’ where entries do not appear, with Śiva’s subtle presence protecting it.

Characters & Entities

• Citragupta
• Kāśī-vāsin (resident of Kāśī)
• Karma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is portrayed as a liberating domain where ordinary karmic bookkeeping is overridden by the kṣetra’s grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), especially the merit of being a Kāśī-vāsin (dweller in Kāśī).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the implied practice is residence in Kāśī as a powerful religious observance (kṣetra-vāsa).