Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

तन्मूलर्क्षविपाकेन चिंताख्येन ज्वरेण च । स विप्रः पंचतां प्राप्तस्त्यक्त्वा सर्वं गृहादिकम्

Transliteration

tanmūlarkṣavipākena ciṃtākhyena jvareṇa ca | sa vipraḥ paṃcatāṃ prāptastyaktvā sarvaṃ gṛhādikam

Translation

Durch die schicksalhafte Reifung, die mit dem Nakṣatra Mūla verbunden war, und durch das Fieber namens Angst erreichte jener Brahmane sein Ende und ließ Haus und alle Habe zurück.

Word by Word

• तत्: that
• तत्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-सम्बन्धार्थे (पूर्वपद), एकवचन — ‘of that’ used as compound member

• मूल: root/cause
• मूल: Sambandha/Qualifier
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (compound member) — root/cause

• अर्क्ष: arkṣa (bear/term)
• अर्क्ष: Sambandha/Qualifier
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्क्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (प्रयोगे), प्रातिपदिक (compound member) — ‘bear’; here as member in a technical compound

• विपाकेन: by the resultant complication
• विपाकेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विपाक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन — Instrumental singular; compound: तत्-मूल-अर्क्ष-विपाक (result/complication arising from that root)

• चिन्ताख्येन: called ‘anxiety’
• चिन्ताख्येन: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चिन्ता + आख्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन — Instrumental singular: ‘called anxiety’

• ज्वरेण: by fever
• ज्वरेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन — Instrumental singular (by fever)

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

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular (he)

• विप्रः: brahmin
• विप्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular

• पञ्चताम्: death
• पञ्चताम्: Gati/Karma (Goal/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्चता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन — Accusative singular (state of being five = death)

• प्राप्तः: reached
• प्राप्तः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+आप् (धातु) → प्राप्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘having reached’ (predicative)

• त्यक्त्वा: having abandoned
• त्यक्त्वा: Purvakala (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वकाल — having abandoned

• सर्वम्: everything
• सर्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन — Accusative singular (everything)

• गृहादिकम्: house and the like
• गृहादिकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृह + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन — Accusative singular; compound: गृह-आदि-क (house etc.)

Speaker

Skanda (narrating; deduced Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A brāhmaṇa’s final moments: household goods and ritual vessels lie unattended; relatives lament; above, a starry band highlights ‘Mūla’ as a symbolic constellation, while the Gaṅgā and temple spire suggest Kāśī’s ever-present mokṣa horizon.

Characters & Entities

• Mūla (Nakṣatra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Life’s fragility and the force of karmic fruition are highlighted; attachment and worry can hasten decline, urging dharmic detachment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it remains within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī-centered narrative continuum.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates death and renunciation-by-circumstance rather than a prescribed rite.