Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

यावन्नहि जराक्रांतिर्यावन्नेंद्रियवैक्लवम् । तावत्सर्वं फल्गुरूपं हित्वा काशीं श्रयेत्सुधीः

Transliteration

yāvannahi jarākrāṃtiryāvanneṃdriyavaiklavam | tāvatsarvaṃ phalgurūpaṃ hitvā kāśīṃ śrayetsudhīḥ

Translation

ما دام المرء لم تُدركه الشيخوخة بعد، وما دامت الحواس لم تضعف، فإلى ذلك الحين ينبغي للحكيم أن يترك كل ما هو تافه ويلجأ إلى كاشي ملاذًا.

Word by Word

• yāvat: as long as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Temporal relation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; यावत्-सम्बन्धबोधक (as long as/while)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात (negation)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Emphasis/Reason)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/हेतु-निपात (indeed/for)

• jarākrāntiḥ: the onset/attack of old age
• jarākrāntiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jarā (प्रातिपदिक) + krānti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (jarāyāḥ krāntiḥ = ‘advance/attack of old age’)

• yāvat: as long as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Temporal relation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; यावत् (as long as)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात

• indriyavaiklavam: weakness of the senses
• indriyavaiklavam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indriya (प्रातिपदिक) + vaiklava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (indriyāṇāṃ vaiklavam = ‘weakness of the senses’)

• tāvat: until then
• tāvat: Sambandha (Correlative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तावत् (until then/so long)

• sarvam: everything
• sarvam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• phalgurūpam: insubstantial/trifling
• phalgurūpam: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: phalgu (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (phalguṃ rūpam = ‘trifling/insubstantial in nature’)

• hitvā: having abandoned
• hitvā: Kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √hā (धातु: हा)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive): “having abandoned”

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

• śrayet: should resort to
• śrayet: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śri (धातु: श्रि)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• sudhīḥ: the wise person
• sudhīḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: su-dhī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (सु + धी = ‘good/intelligent-minded’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya (contextually, as addressed in adjacent verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A resolute pilgrim turning away from worldly bustle (markets, entertainments) and walking toward Kāśī’s ghāṭs with a water-pot and rudrākṣa, while faint silhouettes of old age and failing senses loom behind as a warning.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Vārāṇasī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Act while strength and clarity remain; renounce the trivial and orient life toward liberation through sacred refuge.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is explicitly praised as a refuge to be sought by the wise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The practical prescription is Kāśī-śaraṇāgati/Kāśī-vāsa (seeking refuge/residing in Kāśī), rather than a specific yajña or vrata.