Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

यत्र यस्य हि यद्भाव्यं शुभं वाऽशुभमेव च । आकृष्यभाविनी रज्जुस्तत्र तस्य हि दापयेत

Transliteration

yatra yasya hi yadbhāvyaṃ śubhaṃ vā'śubhameva ca | ākṛṣyabhāvinī rajjustatra tasya hi dāpayeta

Translation

ما كُتِبَ لإنسان—خيرًا كان أم شرًّا—إليه يُجذَب بعينه، كأن حبلًا يشدّه إلى ذلك الموضع.

Word by Word

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्ध-प्रश्न/यद्-तद्-सम्बन्धे देशवाचक (relative adverb)

• yasya: of whom
• yasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• yat: whatever
• yat: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम

• bhāvyam: destiny / what is to happen
• bhāvyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū (धातु) + yat (कृत्य-प्रत्यय; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कृत्य (what is to be / destined)

• śubham: auspicious
• śubham: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (or)

• aśubham: inauspicious
• aśubham: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; नञ्-युक्त विशेषण

• eva: certainly
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण-निपात (emphatic)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक

• ākṛṣya-bhāvinī: (like) a rope that will pull/draw (one)
• ākṛṣya-bhāvinī: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā + kṛṣ (धातु) + lyap (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय; अव्ययभाव) + bhāvinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव-समास (ākṛṣya = having drawn/pulled) + भा-विन् (about to be)

• rajjuḥ: rope
• rajjuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rajju (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (there)

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• dāpayet: should cause (it) to be given / should make (one) give
• dāpayet: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धातु) + ṇic (णिच् causative)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; णिजन्त (causative: ‘cause to give’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa typically Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (implicit as auspicious destination)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A subtle luminous rope extends from an unseen hand of Destiny to a human heart, gently but irresistibly drawing the person toward a distant city of temples (Kāśī) on the horizon; along the path appear both bright and shadowed scenes symbolizing auspicious/inauspicious outcomes.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Destiny shaped by karma can draw beings toward their experiences; wisdom lies in meeting outcomes with dharma and restraint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned in this verse; it provides a universal teaching within the Kāśī Khaṇḍa discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse uses a metaphor (a pulling rope) to explain inevitability of destined results.