Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

विनायज्ञैर्विनादानैर्विना व्रतजपादिभिः । विनातिपुण्यसंभारैः कः काशीं प्राप्तुमीहते

Transliteration

vināyajñairvinādānairvinā vratajapādibhiḥ | vinātipuṇyasaṃbhāraiḥ kaḥ kāśīṃ prāptumīhate

Translation

Không có tế lễ (yajña), không có bố thí, không có trì giới, tụng niệm (japa) và các hạnh tương tự—không có kho công đức dồi dào—ai có thể dám ước mong đạt đến Kāśī?

Word by Word

• विना: without
• विना: Sambandha (Prepositional/उपपदसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपपद, वियोगार्थ) ‘without’

• यज्ञैः: sacrifices
• यज्ञैः: Sambandha (Governed by vinā/विना-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; instrumental ‘with sacrifices’ (governed by विना)

• विना: without
• विना: Sambandha (Prepositional/उपपदसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय ‘without’

• दानैः: charitable gifts
• दानैः: Sambandha (Governed by vinā/विना-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; instrumental ‘with gifts/charity’ (governed by विना)

• विना: without
• विना: Sambandha (Prepositional/उपपदसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय ‘without’

• व्रत-जप-आदिभिः: vows, recitations, etc.
• व्रत-जप-आदिभिः: Sambandha (Governed by vinā/विना-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vrata (प्रातिपदिक) + japa (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समाहार-द्वन्द्व/इतरेतरद्वन्द्व (व्रत + जप + आदि), पुंलिङ्ग (आदि-प्रधान), तृतीया, बहुवचन; instrumental ‘with vows, recitations, etc.’ (governed by विना)

• विना: without
• विना: Sambandha (Prepositional/उपपदसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय ‘without’

• अति-पुण्य-संभारैः: great stores of merit
• अति-पुण्य-संभारैः: Sambandha (Governed by vinā/विना-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ati (अव्यय/उपसर्गवत्) + puṇya (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃbhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (अत्यधिकः पुण्यसंभारः), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; instrumental ‘with great accumulations of merit’ (governed by विना)

• कः: who
• कः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; interrogative pronoun ‘who?’

• काशीम्: Kāśī
• काशीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; ‘Kāśī’

• प्राप्तुम्: to attain
• प्राप्तुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-āp (धातु) → prāptum (तुमुन्)
• Form: कृदन्त (तुमुन्-प्रत्यय), infinitive ‘to attain’

• ईहते: strives
• ईहते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: īh (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; ‘strives/desires’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at a crossroads: one path labeled yajña, another dāna, another vrata-japa; all converge toward a radiant Kāśī gate, implying merit as the key to entry.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Vārāṇasī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Access to great sacred power is linked with prior dharmic merit; one should cultivate puṇya through righteous acts.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is explicitly presented as a supremely meritorious destination.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Yajña (sacrifice), dāna (charity), vrata (vows), and japa (mantra repetition) are named as sources of puṇya supporting the attainment of Kāśī.