Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

ततोथ नवमे वर्षे पित्रोः शुश्रूषणे रतम् । वैश्वानरं गृहपतिं दृष्ट्वा कामचरो मुनिः

Transliteration

tatotha navame varṣe pitroḥ śuśrūṣaṇe ratam | vaiśvānaraṃ gṛhapatiṃ dṛṣṭvā kāmacaro muniḥ

Translation

Then, in the ninth year, seeing the child Gṛhapati Vaiśvānara wholly devoted to serving his parents, the sage—free to roam at will—came upon him.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable adverb): तदनन्तरम् (thereafter)

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle): अनन्तरारम्भसूचक (then/now)

• navame: in the ninth
• navame: Adhikarana (Location in time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: navama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे/पुंलिङ्गे? (agreeing with varṣe), सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (singular)

• varṣe: year
• varṣe: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (singular)

• pitroḥ: of (his) parents
• pitroḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), द्विवचन (dual)

• śuśrūṣaṇe: in service/attendance
• śuśrūṣaṇe: Adhikarana (Sphere/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śuśrūṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; from √śru with desiderative sense)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (singular)

• ratam: engaged (in)
• ratam: Karma (Object of seeing/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rata (प्रातिपदिक; past participial adjective from √ram)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (singular); विशेषण (qualifying the person implied)

• vaiśvānaram: Vaiśvānara
• vaiśvānaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaiśvānara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (singular)

• gṛhapatim: the householder/master of the house
• gṛhapatim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛhapati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (singular); apposition to vaiśvānaram

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable verbal), ‘having seen’

• kāmacaraḥ: moving at will
• kāmacaraḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāmacara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (singular); विशेषण (of muniḥ)

• muniḥ: sage
• muniḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (singular)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual, Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame traditionally Skanda-to-Agastya)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (frame) / pilgrims-seekers (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene forest hermitage near Kāśī: young Gṛhapati attentively serving his parents—offering water, arranging seats—while the wandering sage approaches, observing the boy’s devotion.

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśvānara
• Gṛhapati
• Muni (later identified as Nārada)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True dharma begins with devoted service to one’s parents, presented as a visible mark of virtue.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa setting (Kāśī/Varanasi), though this line itself focuses on household dharma rather than a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it highlights the discipline of parental service (śuśrūṣā) as a lived vow.