Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 77

Devanagari script

देवाचार्यः स्वयं यत्र क्रतोराचार्यतागतः । अभिमानवशात्तं त्वमाख्यासि पितृकाननम्

Transliteration

devācāryaḥ svayaṃ yatra kratorācāryatāgataḥ | abhimānavaśāttaṃ tvamākhyāsi pitṛkānanam

Translation

Wo der Lehrer der Götter selbst gekommen ist, um als Opferpriester und Lehrmeister des Rituals zu wirken—und doch nennst du es aus Stolz einen «Wald der Ahnen», als wäre es nur ein Totenplatz.

Word by Word

• देवाचार्यः: the preceptor of the gods (Bṛhaspati)
• देवाचार्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva-ācārya (प्रातिपदिक; देव + आचार्य)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘देवानाम् आचार्यः’)

• स्वयम्: himself
• स्वयम्: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle; emphatic)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Locative setting/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक-अव्यय/adverb of place)

• क्रतोः: of the sacrifice
• क्रतोः: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kratu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• आचार्यतागतः: having come to (i.e., attained) the role of priest/teacher
• आचार्यतागतः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ācāryatā-gata (प्रातिपदिक; आचार्यता + गत)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः — ‘आचार्यतां गतः’ (having attained the status of teacher)

• अभिमानवशात्: due to pride / under the sway of pride
• अभिमानवशात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abhimāna-vaśa (प्रातिपदिक; अभिमान + वश)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘अभिमानस्य वशः’), अव्ययीभावार्थे हेतौ — ‘अभिमानवशात्’ = कारणे

• तम्: that
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (सन्दर्भानुसार), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• आख्यासि: you call / you name
• आख्यासि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-khyā (धातु; √ख्या उपसर्ग-आ)
• Form: लट्/वर्तमान (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पितृकाननम्: the forest of the Pitṛs (manes)
• पितृकाननम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ-kānana (प्रातिपदिक; पितृ + कानन)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘पितॄणां काननम्’)

Speaker

Dadhīci

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-Avimukta (yajña-bhūmi within śmaśāna discourse)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Bṛhaspati (Devācārya) arrives at the yajña as officiant, holding a staff and scripture; a proud critic gestures dismissively toward the ‘pitṛkānana’ label, while sages and devas look on, emphasizing the critic’s isolation.

Characters & Entities

• Devācārya (Bṛhaspati)
• Pitṛs (ancestors)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pride distorts spiritual perception; even a place associated with death can be the highest sacred arena when sanctified by divine ritual authority.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī’s sacral zone identified by some as pitṛkānana/śmaśāna, reinterpreted as a divine yajña-field.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The presence of an ācārya for a kratu (sacrifice) is referenced, underscoring proper Vedic-sacrificial order.