Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 82

Devanagari script

हाशिशो हागुणनिधे हा पितुर्वाक्यकारक । हा कुतो मंदभाग्याया जठरे मे समागतः

Transliteration

hāśiśo hāguṇanidhe hā piturvākyakāraka | hā kuto maṃdabhāgyāyā jaṭhare me samāgataḥ

Translation

«وا حسرتاه يا طفلي! وا حسرتاه يا كنز الفضائل! وا حسرتاه يا من أتممتَ قول أبيك! وا حسرتاه—كيف جئتَ إلى رحمي أنا سيئة الحظ؟»

Word by Word

• हा: alas!
• हा: Sambodhana/Exclamation (उद्गार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हा (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्गार-निपात (interjection)

• शिशो: O child!
• शिशो: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिशु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• हा: alas!
• हा: Sambodhana/Exclamation (उद्गार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हा (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्गार-निपात

• गुणनिधे: O treasure of virtues!
• गुणनिधे: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुण-निधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• हा: alas!
• हा: Sambodhana/Exclamation (उद्गार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हा (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्गार-निपात

• पितुः: of (your) father
• पितुः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• वाक्यकारक: O fulfiller of (your) father’s word!
• वाक्यकारक: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाक्य-कारक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (agent noun) ‘doer/fulfiller of the word’

• हा: alas!
• हा: Sambodhana/Exclamation (उद्गार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हा (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्गार-निपात

• कुतः: from where/how
• कुतः: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कुतः (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: ‘whence/how’)

• मन्दभाग्यायाः: of (me) the unfortunate
• मन्दभाग्यायाः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मन्द-भाग्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (of the unfortunate one)

• जठरे: in the womb/belly
• जठरे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जठर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मे: my
• मे: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• समागतः: has come/arrived
• समागतः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + गम् (धातु) + क्त (भूतकृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle) पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘having come/arrived’

Speaker

Śuciṣmatī (deduced from preceding verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (traditional frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śuciṣmatī addresses her child directly—calling him a ‘treasure of virtues’ and ‘doer of the father’s word’—her hands lifted in pleading, eyes swollen with tears, voice breaking.

Characters & Entities

• Śuciṣmatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Parental love and sorrow reveal the fragility of worldly bonds; dharma is praised even amid grief.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The larger Kāśīkhaṇḍa framework is Kāśī, but this verse is a personal lament, not tīrtha-stuti.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.