Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

तदा निराश्रया विप्राः क्षेत्रसंन्यासिनोनघाः । उपाकृताश्चाविरतं महाक्षेत्रप्रतिग्रहात्

Transliteration

tadā nirāśrayā viprāḥ kṣetrasaṃnyāsinonaghāḥ | upākṛtāścāvirataṃ mahākṣetrapratigrahāt

Translation

Da waren die makellosen Brahmanen — entsagende Asketen, dem heiligen Kṣetra geweiht — ohne weltliche Zuflucht; doch wurden sie unablässig durch die Opfergaben erhalten, die in jenem großen heiligen Feld (Kāśī) empfangen wurden.

Word by Word

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण-काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: 'then')

• निराश्रयाः: without refuge/support
• निराश्रयाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्-आश्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (masc., nominative plural; adjective)

• विप्राः: brahmins
• विप्राः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (masc., nominative plural)

• क्षेत्रसंन्यासिनः: renunciants of the sacred field (kṣetra)
• क्षेत्रसंन्यासिनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र + संन्यासिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (masc., nominative plural; genitive tatpurusha: 'renunciants of the kṣetra')

• अनघाः: sinless
• अनघाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (masc., nominative plural; adjective)

• उपाकृताः: endowed/provided (with)
• उपाकृताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उप-आ-√कृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगः (past passive participle; masc., nominative plural)

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

• अविरतम्: unceasingly
• अविरतम्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अविरत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण अव्ययीभूतं (adverbial use: 'unceasingly/continually')

• महाक्षेत्रप्रतिग्रहात्: from (their) acceptance of the great sacred field
• महाक्षेत्रप्रतिग्रहात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + क्षेत्र + प्रतिग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (masc., ablative singular; 'from the acceptance of the great kṣetra')

Speaker

Skanda (narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī Mahākṣetra (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣi addressed as 'mune' (likely Śaunaka in frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cluster of serene brāhmaṇa-renunciants in Kāśī, simple and unpossessive, receiving modest offerings from pilgrims near a sacred precinct; the city’s ghāṭs and temples implied in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Brāhmaṇas (Viprāḥ)
• Mahākṣetra (Kāśī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Life anchored in a sacred kṣetra emphasizes renunciation and dependence on dharmic giving; the kṣetra itself becomes a support through righteous offerings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mahākṣetra—Kāśī—presented as a sustaining sacred field for kṣetra-dedicated renunciants.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied practice: dāna (charitable giving) and pratigraha (ritual acceptance of gifts) within the sacred economy of the kṣetra.