Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

यदायदा बहिर्यासि पुत्र त्रिचतुरं पदम् । तदातदा मम प्राणः कंठप्राघुणिकी भवेत्

Transliteration

yadāyadā bahiryāsi putra tricaturaṃ padam | tadātadā mama prāṇaḥ kaṃṭhaprāghuṇikī bhavet

Translation

Jedes Mal, wenn du hinausgehst, mein Sohn, selbst nur drei oder vier Schritte weit, wird in eben diesem Augenblick mein Lebenshauch zum Gast, der in meiner Kehle weilt—bereit zu scheiden.

Word by Word

• यदा: whenever
• यदा: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• यदा: whenever
• यदा: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb), पुनरुक्ति

• बहिः: outside
• बहिः: Adhikarana (Place/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बहिः (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• यासि: you go
• यासि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (singular), परस्मैपद

• पुत्र: O son
• पुत्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन

• त्रिचतुरम्: three or four
• त्रिचतुरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + चतुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), एकवचन; संख्याविशेषण (numeral adjective)

• पदम्: steps
• पदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), एकवचन

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (then)

• तदा: at that very time
• तदा: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय, पुनरुक्ति

• मम: my
• मम: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• प्राणः: life-breath
• प्राणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/nominative), एकवचन

• कण्ठप्राघुणिकी: a guest at (my) throat
• कण्ठप्राघुणिकी: Karta-predicative (Predicate nominative/विशेष्य-विशेषणभाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कण्ठ (प्रातिपदिक) + प्राघुणिकी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (कण्ठस्य प्राघुणिकी)

• भवेत्: would become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

Sunīti (Dhruva’s mother), within Skanda’s narration to Agastya (contextual attribution)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis (standard Naimiṣāraṇya frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A mother watches her son step out; her hand reaches after him as her breath seems caught at the throat, eyes wide with fear of separation; the doorway frames the threshold between home and tapas-journey.

Characters & Entities

• Sunīti
• Dhruva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True tapas often demands separation and courage; the verse highlights a mother’s intense love while implying the higher call of spiritual resolve.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa framework, but the specific tīrtha is not named in the line itself.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed in this verse.