Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

रक्षणीयो यदि भवेत्कामः कामारिणा कथम् । क्षणादनंगतां नीतो बहूनां सुखकार्यपि

Transliteration

rakṣaṇīyo yadi bhavetkāmaḥ kāmāriṇā katham | kṣaṇādanaṃgatāṃ nīto bahūnāṃ sukhakāryapi

Translation

Wenn Lust (kāma) wirklich etwas wäre, das man schützen könnte, wie vermochte dann der „Feind des Kāma“ Kāma in einem Augenblick körperlos zu machen, obgleich man sagt, er bereite vielen Freude?

Word by Word

• rakṣaṇīyaḥ: to be protected, protectable
• rakṣaṇīyaḥ: Predicate complement (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rakṣ (धातु) + anīya (अनीयर्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (भाव्य/gerundive), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम्

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha/Conjunction (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्धबोधक-अव्यय (conditional conjunction)

• bhavet: would be
• bhavet: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• kāmaḥ: Kāma (desire / the god of love)
• kāmaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kāma-ariṇā: by the enemy of Kāma (Śiva)
• kāma-ariṇā: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक) + ari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (kāmasya ariḥ); पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• katham: how?
• katham: Prashna (प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• kṣaṇāt: in a moment / from a moment
• kṣaṇāt: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• anaṅga-tām: bodilessness (state of being Anaṅga)
• anaṅga-tām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anaṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + tā (ताप्रत्यय/भाव)
• Form: कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-भावनिर्माण; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; गत्यर्थक-क्रियायाः कर्म

• nītaḥ: was reduced/brought
• nītaḥ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nī (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे ‘was led/brought’

• bahūnām: of many
• bahūnām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• sukha-kāryaḥ: bringing pleasure
• sukha-kāryaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sukha (प्रातिपदिक) + kārya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (sukhasya kāryaḥ / sukhaṃ karoti); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; kāmaḥ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• api: even, although
• api: Sambandha/Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-निपात (concessive/additive particle)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśī-khaṇḍa norm: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva as Kāmāri opens the third eye; Kāma collapses into bodilessness, while sages and pilgrims in Kāśī witness the lesson—desire dissolving like smoke over the Gaṅgā.

Characters & Entities

• Kāma
• Kāmāri (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Desire is unstable and cannot be relied upon for lasting security; Śiva’s supremacy illustrates the need to prioritize Dharma and liberation-oriented life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse supports the Kāśī Mahātmya theme: in Kāśī, Śiva-centered Dharma is superior to worldly desire.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is stated; the verse functions as doctrinal instruction encouraging detachment from kāma.