Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणा यदि नष्टाः स्युर्वेदा नष्टास्ततः स्वयम् । आम्नायेषु प्रणष्टेषु विनष्टाः शततंतवः

Transliteration

brāhmaṇā yadi naṣṭāḥ syurvedā naṣṭāstataḥ svayam | āmnāyeṣu praṇaṣṭeṣu vinaṣṭāḥ śatataṃtavaḥ

Translation

Wenn die Brāhmaṇas zugrunde gingen, gingen danach auch die Veden von selbst zugrunde. Und wenn die āmnāyas, die heiligen Überlieferungslinien, vernichtet sind, werden die hundertfachen Kontinuitäten der Tradition zerstört.

Word by Word

• ब्राह्मणाः: Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Logical connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/शर्तसूचक-अव्यय (conditional particle)

• नष्टाः: destroyed, lost
• नष्टाः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: naṣṭa (कृदन्त; √naś (नश्) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृत (past passive participle)

• स्युः: would be
• स्युः: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस्)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural)

• वेदाः: the Vedas
• वेदाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• नष्टाः: destroyed
• नष्टाः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: naṣṭa (कृदन्त; √naś (नश्) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP)

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Kāla/Anvaya (Temporal sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादान/क्रमसूचक (then, thereupon)

• स्वयम्: of themselves
• स्वयम्: Prayojaka-bhāva (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आत्मार्थक (reflexive/emphatic: oneself)

• आम्नायेषु: in the sacred transmissions (Vedic recensions/traditions)
• आम्नायेषु: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āmnāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), बहुवचन

• प्रणष्टेषु: when (they are) utterly destroyed
• प्रणष्टेषु: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of āmnāyeṣu)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: praṇaṣṭa (कृदन्त; √naś (नश्) + प्र + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP)

• विनष्टाः: ruined, perished
• विनष्टाः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vinaṣṭa (कृदन्त; √naś (नश्) + वि + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP)

• शततंतवः: the hundred threads (i.e., many lineages/continuities)
• शततंतवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata-tantu (प्रातिपदिक; śata + tantu)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-प्रायः तत्पुरुषसमास (hundred-threaded)

Speaker

Skanda (narration to Agastya, inferred)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A somber assembly in Kāśī: aged Veda-reciting brāhmaṇas with palm-leaf manuscripts; fading sacred fire; broken rosaries and scattered śāstra leaves symbolizing ruptured āmnāya.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas
• Vedas
• Āmnāya (sacred transmission)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual culture survives through living transmission; when custodians and lineages are harmed, scripture and practice collapse together.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named; the passage supports the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s broader dharmic focus associated with Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse stresses preservation of āmnāya (recensional transmission) as essential.