Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 75

Devanagari script

समागतायां तन्मूर्तौ सर्वानष्टाग्रयः प्रजाः । हव्यकव्यक्रियाशून्या विरजिष्यंति राजनि

Transliteration

samāgatāyāṃ tanmūrtau sarvānaṣṭāgrayaḥ prajāḥ | havyakavyakriyāśūnyā virajiṣyaṃti rājani

Translation

إذا زالت تلك التجليّة، فقدت الرعيّة نظامها الأسمى كلَّه؛ وإذ تُحرم من شعائر القرابين للآلهة وللأسلاف (هافيا وكافيا)، تسقط في الإهمال والاضطراب تحت ذلك الملك.

Word by Word

• समागतायाम्: when (it) has come/arrived
• समागतायाम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + आ + गम् (गम्-धातु) → समागत (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (locative absolute sense with following noun)

• तत्-मूर्तौ: in that form
• तत्-मूर्तौ: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम) + मूर्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• सर्व: all
• सर्व: Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying प्रजाः)

• अनष्टाग्रयः: with the foremost (leaders) intact
• अनष्टाग्रयः: Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन् + अष्टाग्र (प्रातिपदिक; अष्ट + अग्र)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (with the foremost/eight chiefs not destroyed / intact leaders)

• प्रजाः: subjects/people
• प्रजाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रजा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• हव्यकव्यक्रिया-शून्याः: devoid of havya-kavya rites
• हव्यकव्यक्रिया-शून्याः: Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हव्य + कव्य + क्रिया + शून्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (devoid of rites of oblations to gods and ancestors)

• विरजिष्यन्ति: will become discolored/lose luster
• विरजिष्यन्ति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + रञ्ज् (रञ्ज्-धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• राजनि: in the king (i.e., under the king's rule)
• राजनि: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

Speaker

Indra (Śakra) (continuation of instruction and its consequence)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: null

Type: null

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: As Agni’s manifestation departs, sacrificial fires dim; people abandon havya-kavya rites; the kingdom’s social ‘foremost order’ collapses into neglect under the king.

Characters & Entities

• Agni (Havyavāhana)
• the king
• subjects (prajā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When sacred rites decline—offerings to devas and pitṛs—social excellence and stability also decline; ritual and dharma are portrayed as supports of civilization.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśī-khaṇḍa setting frames the teaching, but the verse itself focuses on havya-kavya practice rather than naming a particular tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Havya (deva-offerings) and kavya (ancestor offerings) are explicitly referenced as essential rites whose absence leads to decline.