Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 76

Devanagari script

प्रांते कुटुंबस्मरणात्तथाकाशीस्मृतेरपि । चोरैर्हतोपि स तदा कीकटे कुक्कुटोऽभवत्

Transliteration

prāṃte kuṭuṃbasmaraṇāttathākāśīsmṛterapi | corairhatopi sa tadā kīkaṭe kukkuṭo'bhavat

Translation

Am Ende—seiner Familie gedenkend und auch Kāśī im Sinn—obwohl er von Dieben erschlagen wurde, wurde er damals in Kīkaṭa als ein Hahn wiedergeboren.

Word by Word

• prānte: at the end / in the border region
• prānte: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prānta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• kuṭumbasmaraṇāt: from remembering (his) family
• kuṭumbasmaraṇāt: Apādāna (Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṭumba-smaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘कुटुम्बस्य स्मरणम्’

• tathā: likewise/also
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/तुल्यार्थक अव्यय (and likewise/so)

• kāśīsmṛteḥ: from the remembrance of Kāśī
• kāśīsmṛteḥ: Apādāna (Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī-smṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘काश्याः स्मृतिः’

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Addition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (also)

• coraiḥ: by thieves
• coraiḥ: Karta (Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cora (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• hataḥ: killed
• hataḥ: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: han (धातु √हन्)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• api: even though
• api: Sambandha (Concession)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि (even/although)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Temporal adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (then)

• kīkaṭe: in Kīkaṭa (a region)
• kīkaṭe: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kīkaṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; देशवाचक

• kukkuṭaḥ: a rooster
• kukkuṭaḥ: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kukkuṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• abhavat: became
• abhavat: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु √भू)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (remembered) / Kīkaṭa (rebirth locale)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience within Kāśī-khaṇḍa frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A roadside ambush: thieves strike; as the brāhmaṇa falls, a luminous thought of Kāśī (ghāṭs, liṅga) rises like a halo; the next panel shows a rooster in Kīkaṭa at dawn, suggesting karmic reversal and continuity of consciousness.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Kīkaṭa
• Thieves
• Rooster (kukkuṭa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The final remembrance shapes destiny; even imperfect remembrance of Kāśī carries spiritual force, though mixed attachments can limit the outcome.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is glorified through the emphasis on kāśī-smṛti—remembrance of Kāśī at life’s end as spiritually potent.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An implicit practice is indicated: cultivating remembrance of Kāśī (and by extension Śiva) at the time of death.