Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

पितृभ्यां परिहीनानामितिहास कथाविदाम् । त्यक्ताहारविहाराणां कीराणां वरदो भव

Transliteration

pitṛbhyāṃ parihīnānāmitihāsa kathāvidām | tyaktāhāravihārāṇāṃ kīrāṇāṃ varado bhava

Translation

Sei du der Spender einer Gnade für diese Papageien—der Eltern beraubt, kundig in Erzählungen und heiligen Überlieferungen, und die in ihrer Askese Speise und gewöhnliche Bewegung aufgegeben haben.

Word by Word

• पितृभ्याम्: by (their) two parents
• पितृभ्याम्: Karaṇa (Instrument; 'by/with parents')
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/instrumental), द्विवचन

• परिहीनानाम्: of those deprived
• परिहीनानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परि (उपसर्ग) + हीन (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √हा धातु, क्त/निष्ठा-भाव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (genitive plural)

• इतिहास: history/legend
• इतिहास: Sambandha (Compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इतिहास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासपूर्वपद (compound member)

• कथाविदाम्: of the knowers of stories
• कथाविदाम्: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा (प्रातिपदिक) + विद् (प्रातिपदिक: 'knower')
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कथायाः विदः)

• त्यक्त: having abandoned
• त्यक्त: Sambandha (Compound member)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्यक्त (कृदन्त; √त्यज् धातु, क्त)
• Form: समासपूर्वपद (past passive participle used in compound)

• आहार: food
• आहार: Sambandha (Compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासाङ्ग (compound member)

• विहाराणाम्: of recreation/pleasures
• विहाराणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; in compound with āhāra

• कीराणाम्: of the parrots
• कीराणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive; beneficiaries)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन

• वरदः: boon-giving
• वरदः: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर (प्रातिपदिक) + द (प्रातिपदिक from √दा 'giver')
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (वरं ददाति)

• भव: be
• भव: Kriyā (Imperative predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Dharmarāja (Yama)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī/Avimukta

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sage-audience / pilgrims

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The devotee pleads: ‘Grant a boon to these parrots’—parentless, learned in itihāsa and kathā, austere in renunciation—standing quietly before Śiva.

Characters & Entities

• Dharmarāja (Yama)
• Śiva
• Kīra (parrots)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine grace is sought for the vulnerable; knowledge of sacred narratives and restraint are honored even in non-human beings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Kāśī Khaṇḍa setting underlines Kāśī as a landscape where compassion and dharma extend to all creatures.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied ascetic practice: tyāga of āhāra-vihāra (renunciation of food and ordinary indulgence/roaming), but no formal rite is detailed.