Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

अहो देहोप्यहोंगत्वं यथा पित्रोः पुरो मम । इति निश्चित्य सा बाला विजितेंद्रिय मानसा

Transliteration

aho dehopyahoṃgatvaṃ yathā pitroḥ puro mama | iti niścitya sā bālā vijiteṃdriya mānasā

Translation

„Weh, auch dieser Leib! Weh, dieser Zustand der Leiblosigkeit, wie er einst meinen Eltern widerfuhr!“ So entschlossen stand das Mädchen—Sinne und Geist bezwungen—fest in seinem Gelübde.

Word by Word

• aho: alas!/ah!
• aho: Sambandha (Exclamation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: aho (अव्यय)
• Form: विस्मयादि-निपात (interjection)

• dehaḥ: the body
• dehaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• aho: alas!/ah!
• aho: Sambandha (Exclamation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: aho (अव्यय)
• Form: विस्मयादि-निपात

• aṅgatvam: the condition of being a mere part/limb
• aṅgatvam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṅgatva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; भाववाचक ‘state of being a limb/part’

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparison/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमान/प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (comparative adverb)

• pitroḥ: of the parents
• pitroḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), द्विवचन

• puraḥ: before, in the presence of
• puraḥ: Adhikarana (Adverbial/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: puras (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) ‘in front/before’ (puraḥ as indeclinable)

• mama: of me / my
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण-निपात

• niścitya: having determined
• niścitya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: niścitya (कृदन्त; √ci ‘चि’ with nis-)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having ascertained/decided’

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• bālā: the girl
• bālā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bālā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• vijitendriya: having conquered the senses
• vijitendriya: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vijita (कृदन्त; √ji ‘जि’ with vi-) + indriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) ‘विजितानि इन्द्रियाणि यस्या/येन’ (sense-controlled)

• mānasā: mentally (composed), with mind controlled
• mānasā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mānasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (agreeing with sā/bālā) ‘mentally (composed)’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: After realizing the fate of the body, the maiden stands upright, calm and resolute, with subdued senses—eyes steady, posture firm—suggesting a vow taken; a Śiva-liṅga or temple spire anchors the background.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Meditation on the body’s perishability leads to indriya-nigraha (sense-restraint) and a stable, dharmic resolve.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tirtha is directly praised in this verse; it supports the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s broader Kāśī-centered liberation ethos through anityatā teaching.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse recommends a contemplative discipline culminating in self-control.