Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

या त्वद्विनिंदाश्रवणात्तृणीचक्रे स्वजीवितम् । इत्याकर्ण्य महाकालः सम्यग्ज्ञात्वा सतीव्ययम्

Transliteration

yā tvadviniṃdāśravaṇāttṛṇīcakre svajīvitam | ityākarṇya mahākālaḥ samyagjñātvā satīvyayam

Translation

هي التي لمّا سمعت سبَّك وذمَّك عدّت حياتها قشًّا لا قيمة له. فلمّا سمع مَهَاكَالَا ذلك، وأدرك على وجه الصواب فناءَ ساتي، تحرّك ليقوم بالفعل.

Word by Word

• yā: she who
• yā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• tvat-vinindā-śravaṇāt: from hearing your censure
• tvat-vinindā-śravaṇāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Ablative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + vinindā (प्रातिपदिक) + śravaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (tvat-vinindā = your censure) + तत्पुरुषः; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन (from hearing)

• tṛṇīcakre: made (it) like straw; treated as worthless
• tṛṇīcakre: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tṛṇī-kṛ (धातु; तृणीकृ)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• sva-jīvitam: her own life
• sva-jīvitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + jīvita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: इति-प्रत्याहार/उद्धरणसूचक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• ākarṇya: having heard
• ākarṇya: Kriya (Gerundial action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-√kṛṇ (धातु; कर्णे/श्रवणे)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund): having heard

• mahākālaḥ: Mahākāla
• mahākālaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयः; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• samyak: properly, fully
• samyak: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samyak (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• jñātvā: having understood
• jñātvā: Kriya (Gerundial action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √jñā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund): having known/understood

• satī-vyayam: the loss/destruction of Satī
• satī-vyayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: satī (प्रातिपदिक) + vyaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (satī-vyaya = Satī’s loss/destruction); पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced Kāśīkhaṇḍa norm: Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī / Mahākāla (as Śiva epithet within Kāśī discourse)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A sage addressed as ‘mune’ appears in the immediate narrative frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Satī hears Śiva reviled and devalues her own life; the report reaches Mahākāla, who comprehends her passing and prepares to respond.

Characters & Entities

• Satī
• Mahākāla
• Śiva
• Dakṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional loyalty treats blasphemy of the divine as unbearable; Satī’s act becomes a moral pivot leading to cosmic retribution.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse names Mahākāla, strongly resonant with Kāśī’s Shaiva sacred geography and Mahākāla’s lordship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is narrative theology emphasizing reverence (apacāra-avoidance) toward Śiva.