Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

षण्मासान्न परित्यागाद्यदन्यत्र फलं लभेत् । शिवरात्र्युपवासेन तत्काश्यां जायते ध्रुवम्

Transliteration

ṣaṇmāsānna parityāgādyadanyatra phalaṃ labhet | śivarātryupavāsena tatkāśyāṃ jāyate dhruvam

Translation

Phước lành mà ở nơi khác phải giữ hạnh không bỏ dở suốt sáu tháng mới được, thì chính phước ấy tại Kāśī chắc chắn phát sinh nhờ trai giới (nhịn ăn) trong đêm Śivarātri.

Word by Word

• ṣaṇmāsāt: from (the observance of) six months
• ṣaṇmāsāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṭ-māsa (प्रातिपदिक; षण् + मास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास ‘षट् मासाः’ → ‘षण्मास’

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negative particle)

• parityāgāt: from giving up/abandonment
• parityāgāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pari-tyaj (धातु) → parityāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; भाववाचक-नाम (action noun)

• yat: that which
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• anyatra: elsewhere
• anyatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anyatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देश/विषय-अव्यय (adverb: elsewhere)

• phalam: fruit/result
• phalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• labhet: would obtain
• labhet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: labh (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• śivarātri-upavāsena: by the fast of Śivarātri
• śivarātri-upavāsena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva-rātri (प्रातिपदिक) + upavāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘शिवरात्र्याः उपवासः’

• tat: that (same)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; अन्वयः ‘तत् (फलम्)’

• kāśyām: in Kāśī
• kāśyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• jāyate: arises/is produced
• jāyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• dhruvam: certainly
• dhruvam: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dhruva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग (adverbial accusative used as indeclinable): ‘certainly/indeed’

Speaker

Skanda (contextual attribution within Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogues)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night of Śivarātri in Kāśī: devotees fasting, holding lamps, offering bilva leaves to a liṅga near the Gaṅgā ghāṭs; temple bells and river shimmer.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Śivarātri
• Śiva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī magnifies spiritual practice: a single Śivarātri fast there yields extraordinary, assured merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), celebrated as a supreme Śaiva sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śivarātri-upavāsa—fasting/observance on the night of Śiva (Mahāśivarātri).