Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

तदा निराश्रया विप्राः क्षेत्रसंन्यासिनोनघाः । उपाकृताश्चाविरतं महाक्षेत्रप्रतिग्रहात्

Transliteration

tadā nirāśrayā viprāḥ kṣetrasaṃnyāsinonaghāḥ | upākṛtāścāvirataṃ mahākṣetrapratigrahāt

Translation

حينئذٍ كان البراهمة الأطهار—الزاهدون المكرَّسون للحقل المقدّس (كشيترا)—بلا ملجأ دنيوي؛ ومع ذلك كانوا يُرزقون على الدوام بما يُتلقّى من القرابين في ذلك الميدان المقدّس العظيم (كاشي).

Word by Word

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण-काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: 'then')

• निराश्रयाः: without refuge/support
• निराश्रयाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्-आश्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (masc., nominative plural; adjective)

• विप्राः: brahmins
• विप्राः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (masc., nominative plural)

• क्षेत्रसंन्यासिनः: renunciants of the sacred field (kṣetra)
• क्षेत्रसंन्यासिनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र + संन्यासिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (masc., nominative plural; genitive tatpurusha: 'renunciants of the kṣetra')

• अनघाः: sinless
• अनघाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (masc., nominative plural; adjective)

• उपाकृताः: endowed/provided (with)
• उपाकृताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उप-आ-√कृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगः (past passive participle; masc., nominative plural)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• अविरतम्: unceasingly
• अविरतम्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अविरत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण अव्ययीभूतं (adverbial use: 'unceasingly/continually')

• महाक्षेत्रप्रतिग्रहात्: from (their) acceptance of the great sacred field
• महाक्षेत्रप्रतिग्रहात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + क्षेत्र + प्रतिग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (masc., ablative singular; 'from the acceptance of the great kṣetra')

Speaker

Skanda (narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī Mahākṣetra (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣi addressed as 'mune' (likely Śaunaka in frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cluster of serene brāhmaṇa-renunciants in Kāśī, simple and unpossessive, receiving modest offerings from pilgrims near a sacred precinct; the city’s ghāṭs and temples implied in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Brāhmaṇas (Viprāḥ)
• Mahākṣetra (Kāśī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Life anchored in a sacred kṣetra emphasizes renunciation and dependence on dharmic giving; the kṣetra itself becomes a support through righteous offerings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mahākṣetra—Kāśī—presented as a sustaining sacred field for kṣetra-dedicated renunciants.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied practice: dāna (charitable giving) and pratigraha (ritual acceptance of gifts) within the sacred economy of the kṣetra.