Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

कृत्वापि सर्वसंन्यासं कृत्वा पाशुपतव्रतम् । नियमेभ्यः स्खलित्वापि कुतो बिभ्यति मानवाः

Transliteration

kṛtvāpi sarvasaṃnyāsaṃ kṛtvā pāśupatavratam | niyamebhyaḥ skhalitvāpi kuto bibhyati mānavāḥ

Translation

Selbst nachdem man völlige Entsagung auf sich genommen, selbst nachdem man das Pāśupata-Gelübde angenommen hat—auch wenn man in Regeln und Zügelungen strauchelt—warum sollten Menschen sich fürchten (da es eine solche Zuflucht gibt)?

Word by Word

• कृत्वा: having done
• कृत्वा: Purvakala (Absolutive/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund: having done)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्यय (particle: even/also)

• सर्वसंन्यासम्: complete renunciation
• सर्वसंन्यासम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + संन्यास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (सर्वः संन्यासः)

• कृत्वा: having done
• कृत्वा: Purvakala (Absolutive/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (absolutive)

• पाशुपतव्रतम्: the Pāśupata vow
• पाशुपतव्रतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाशुपत + व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (पाशुपतस्य व्रतम्)

• नियमेभ्यः: from the disciplines/observances
• नियमेभ्यः: Apadana (Ablative source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नियम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), बहुवचन

• स्खलित्वा: having faltered
• स्खलित्वा: Purvakala (Absolutive/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्खल् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (absolutive: having slipped/failed)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (even/also)

• कुतः: how/whence
• कुतः: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कुतः (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्न-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: whence/how)

• बिभ्यति: fears
• बिभ्यति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भी (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• मानवाः: people/humans
• मानवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī Śiva-liṅga refuge (Trilocana/mahāliṅga context)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages/pilgrims (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A renunciant with staff and waterpot stands anxious after a lapse; before the liṅga, fear dissolves as a calm radiance surrounds the shrine, suggesting Śiva’s protective refuge.

Characters & Entities

• Pāśupata Vrata
• Saṃnyāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine refuge and grace can overcome human lapses; fear diminishes when devotion is anchored in Śiva’s saving presence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Implicitly Kāśī’s Śaiva refuge (context: Trilocana/Mahāliṅga in Kāśīkhaṇḍa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Saṃnyāsa (renunciation) and the Pāśupata-vrata are referenced as disciplines, alongside the reality of possible lapses.