Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

ततः कौमारमासाद्य वयोऽभिध्यानशीलिना । भवता सर्वविद्यानां भाव्यं वै पारदृश्वना

Transliteration

tataḥ kaumāramāsādya vayo'bhidhyānaśīlinā | bhavatā sarvavidyānāṃ bhāvyaṃ vai pāradṛśvanā

Translation

Then, on reaching youth, you should become one devoted to study and contemplation; indeed, you are to become a knower of all branches of learning, O far-seeing one.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: 'then/thereafter')

• कौमारम्: boyhood
• कौमारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौमार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन (Neuter, Acc singular: 'boyhood')

• आसाद्य: having attained
• आसाद्य: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √सद्/√आसद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund): 'having reached/attained'

• वयः: age
• वयः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc singular: 'age')

• अभिध्यानशीलिना: by one devoted to meditation
• अभिध्यानशीलिना: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अभिध्यान + शीलिन् (प्रातिपदिके; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (Instrumental singular; 'one whose habit is meditation')

• भवता: by you
• भवता: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक/भवद्-शब्द)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन (Instrumental singular: 'by you' honorific)

• सर्वविद्यानाम्: of all knowledges/arts
• सर्वविद्यानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + विद्या (प्रातिपदिके; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (Genitive plural: 'of all sciences/arts')

• भाव्यम्: should become/should be
• भाव्यम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √भू (धातु) + यत् (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (gerundive: 'to be/should become')

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Discourse/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• पारदृश्वना: O Pāradṛśvan (epithet/name)
• पारदृश्वना: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पारदृश्वन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन (Vocative singular; proper epithet/name)

Speaker

Sunīti (contextual, Dhruva narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A youth seated with palm-leaf manuscripts, listening to a teacher; behind them, a quiet shrine or riverbank suggests contemplation alongside study.

Characters & Entities

• Dhruva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It presents a conventional dharmic sequencing of life—education and contemplation first—before intense renunciation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is explicitly named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; it recommends study and reflective discipline.