Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

अहो जनानां जडता विहाय काशीं यदन्यत्र न यंति चेतः । परिस्फुरद्गांगजलाभिरामां कामारिशूलाग्रधृतां लयेपि

Transliteration

aho janānāṃ jaḍatā vihāya kāśīṃ yadanyatra na yaṃti cetaḥ | parisphuradgāṃgajalābhirāmāṃ kāmāriśūlāgradhṛtāṃ layepi

Translation

唉，世人何其愚钝：舍弃迦尸（Kāśī），心却奔向他处——那迦尸因恒河（Gaṅgā）粼粼之水而庄严可爱，纵至劫尽溶灭之时，亦被爱神迦摩之敌湿婆（Śiva）的三叉戟尖端所托举。

Word by Word

• aho: ah!, alas!
• aho: Sambodhana/Exclamation (सम्बोधन/उद्गार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: aho (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्गार-अव्यय (interjection)

• janānām: of people
• janānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• jaḍatā: stupidity, dullness
• jaḍatā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaḍatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vihāya: having abandoned
• vihāya: Kriya-visheshana (Converb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi√hā (हा धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (Gerund), ‘त्यक्त्वा’

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

• yat: that/which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक

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

• na: not
• na: Nishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• yānti: go
• yānti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (या धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• cetaḥ: mind
• cetaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cetas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• parisphurat-gāṃga-jala-ābhirāmām: charming with shimmering Gaṅgā water
• parisphurat-gāṃga-jala-ābhirāmām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parisphurat (स्फुर् धातु, शतृ) + gāṃga (प्रातिपदिक) + jala (प्रातिपदिक) + ābhirāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण—‘परिस्फुरत् गाङ्गजलैः आभिरामा’ (charming with shimmering Gaṅgā waters)

• kāmāri-śūla-agra-dhṛtām: held on the tip of Śiva’s trident
• kāmāri-śūla-agra-dhṛtām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāmāri (प्रातिपदिक; ‘कामस्य अरिः’=Śiva) + śūla (प्रातिपदिक) + agra (प्रातिपदिक) + dhṛta (धृ धातु, क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण—‘कामारिणः शूलाग्रे धृता’ (held on the tip of Kāma’s-enemy’s trident)

• laye: in dissolution, at the time of cosmic end
• laye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: laya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि-कारक (particle: even)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta) with Gaṅgā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kāśī’s ghāṭs gleam with rippling Gaṅgā light; above, a colossal Śiva stands as Kāma’s foe, holding the entire city poised on the tip of his trident during cosmic dissolution—waves of pralaya surrounding yet not touching Kāśī.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Gaṅgā
• Śiva (Kāmāri)
• Śūla (trident)
• Pralaya (laya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is portrayed as cosmically protected and supremely sacred; turning one’s mind away from it is spiritual dullness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra) and the Gaṅgā within it, under Śiva’s guardianship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the verse motivates devotion to Kāśī and Gaṅgā by describing their cosmic sanctity.