Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 62

Devanagari script

आरोहणं गवां पृष्ठे प्रेतधूमं सरित्तरम् । बालातपं दिवास्वापं द्यजेद्दीर्घं जिजीविषुः

Transliteration

ārohaṇaṃ gavāṃ pṛṣṭhe pretadhūmaṃ sarittaram | bālātapaṃ divāsvāpaṃ dyajeddīrghaṃ jijīviṣuḥ

Translation

Wer lang leben will, soll vermeiden, auf dem Rücken von Kühen zu reiten, den Rauch von Totenriten einzuatmen, Flüsse unbesonnen zu durchqueren, der sengenden Sonne ausgesetzt zu sein und am Tage zu schlafen.

Word by Word

• ārohaṇam: mounting (riding)
• ārohaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ārohaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; √ruh आरोहणे धातु-निष्पन्न)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; action-noun (gerundive sense: ‘act of mounting’)

• gavām: of cows
• gavām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (गो-शब्दः), षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• pṛṣṭhe: on the back
• pṛṣṭhe: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• preta-dhūmam: smoke of a funeral pyre (ghost-related smoke)
• preta-dhūmam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: preta (प्रातिपदिक) + dhūma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (प्रेतस्य धूमः)

• sarit-taram: crossing a river
• sarit-taram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarit (प्रातिपदिक) + tara (प्रातिपदिक/प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (सरितः तरणम्/तरण-कार्यं)

• bāla-ātapam: early/mild sunlight
• bāla-ātapam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (प्रातिपदिक) + ātapa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (बालः ātapaḥ = mild/early sun-heat)

• divā-svāpaṃ: daytime sleep
• divā-svāpaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: divā (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + svāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (दिवायां स्वापः)

• tyajet: should abandon
• tyajet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √tyaj (त्यागे धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• dīrgham: for long (a long time)
• dīrgham: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial qualifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dīrgha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (दीर्घकालम्)

• jijīviṣuḥ: one who wishes to live
• jijīviṣuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jijīviṣu (प्रातिपदिक; desiderative from √jīv जीवने)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; इच्छार्थक-प्रातिपदिक (जीवितुम् इच्छन्)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kshetra (Gaṅgā-ghāṭa context)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and other Ṛṣis (typical frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Kāśī pilgrim at dawn near a ghāṭa: cows resting nearby, a distant śmaśāna smoke plume across the river, the pilgrim choosing a safe boat crossing, shading from the rising sun, refusing midday sleep to continue japa.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes safeguarding the body as a vehicle for sādhana; avoid actions that invite impurity or weaken vitality.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The guidance is general within Kāśīkhaṇḍa; it supports safe, disciplined movement through Kāśī’s sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal rite; it prescribes avoidances (varjya) connected to purity and health.