Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

काशी निर्वाणनगरी येषां चित्ते प्रकाशते । ते मत्पुरः प्रकाशंते नैःश्रेयस्या श्रिया वृताः

Transliteration

kāśī nirvāṇanagarī yeṣāṃ citte prakāśate | te matpuraḥ prakāśaṃte naiḥśreyasyā śriyā vṛtāḥ

Translation

凡在心中显现并照耀着迦尸（Kāśī）——这座涅槃之城的人，他们也在我的居处中自放光明，披覆着至善解脱的荣辉。

Word by Word

• kāśī: Kāśī (Varanasi)
• kāśī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• nirvāṇa-nagarī: the city of liberation
• nirvāṇa-nagarī: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nirvāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + nagarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (निर्वाणस्य नगरी)

• yeṣām: of whom
• yeṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• citte: in the mind
• citte: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: citta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• prakāśate: shines, becomes manifest
• prakāśate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prakāś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• mat-puraḥ: my cities/abodes
• mat-puraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + pura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मम पुराणि)

• prakāśante: shine, become manifest
• prakāśante: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prakāś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

• naiḥśreyasyā: with the auspiciousness of final beatitude
• naiḥśreyasyā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: naiḥśreyasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; (नैःश्रेयस्य) विशेषणम्

• śriyā: by/with prosperity, glory
• śriyā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• vṛtāḥ: surrounded, enveloped
• vṛtāḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vṛ (धातु) + ta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘आवृताः’

Speaker

Śiva (as Maheśāna), in Skanda Purāṇa Kāśīkhaṇḍa context

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dwijas/Brāhmaṇas (addressed in nearby verses)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee’s heart-lotus illumined with the skyline of Kāśī—ghāṭas, Gaṅgā, and Viśvanātha—while Śiva’s radiant abode mirrors that inner city; figures shine with niḥśreyasa-śrī.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Nirvāṇa
• Śiva (implied by matpuraḥ)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Let Kāśī’s liberating reality shine in the heart; such inner orientation leads to the radiance of Śiva’s abode and the highest good (mokṣa).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), praised as the ‘City of Nirvāṇa’ within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; the emphasis is on inner contemplation/realization of Kāśī’s liberating nature.