Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

धर्मक्रियाविलुप्ताश्च प्रवृत्ताः सुकृतेतराः । त एव जलदीभूय ववृषुर्निज लीलया

Transliteration

dharmakriyāviluptāśca pravṛttāḥ sukṛtetarāḥ | ta eva jaladībhūya vavṛṣurnija līlayā

Translation

Die Riten des Dharma gingen verloren, und die Menschen wandten sich dem Verdienstwidrigen zu. Eben jene, zu Wolken geworden, ließen nach eigener Laune Regen niedergehen.

Word by Word

• धर्म-क्रिया-विलुप्ताः: those in whom religious rites were lost
• धर्म-क्रिया-विलुप्ताः: Karta (Qualifier of subject/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + क्रिया (प्रातिपदिक) + विलुप्त (लुप् धातु, क्त-कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (ते); बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (धर्मक्रिया विलुप्ता येषाम्)

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

• प्रवृत्ताः: engaged / set about
• प्रवृत्ताः: Karta (Qualifier of subject/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-वृत् (धातु) → प्रवृत्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (ते)

• सुकृत-इतराः: turned to the opposite of good deeds (i.e., evil)
• सुकृत-इतराः: Karta (Qualifier of subject/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुकृत (प्रातिपदिक) + इतर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (ते); तत्पुरुषः (सुकृतात् इतराः = opposite to merit)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (सर्वनाम)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• जलदी-भूय: having become clouds
• जलदी-भूय: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जलद (प्रातिपदिक) + भू (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund) from भू; ‘जलदी’ (स्त्रीलिङ्ग-प्रातिपदिक, cloud) as उपपद; अर्थः—जलदीत्वं गत्वा

• ववृषुः: rained
• ववृषुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृष् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परिपूर्णभूत/Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• निज: their own
• निज: Karana (Qualifier of instrument/करण-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (लीलया)

• लीलया: by (their) play / sport
• लीलया: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लीला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic metamorphosis: shadowy figures of adharma-minded people rising into the sky as dark clouds, raining not as blessing but as whimsical, unsettling downpour; below, abandoned dharma-ritual spaces lie silent.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Agastya
• Dharma-kriyā
• Jalada (clouds)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is the stabilizing principle of both society and nature; when dharma is lost, even the rhythms of the world turn erratic.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching stands within Kāśī’s Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative environment, but it is not a direct tīrtha-glorification verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific ritual is prescribed; the verse laments the disappearance of dharmic practices.