Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

गर्भैनः शमने हेतुः समस्तायुः सुखप्रदम् । एकादशेह्नि नामास्य न कृतं विधिपूर्वकम्

Transliteration

garbhainaḥ śamane hetuḥ samastāyuḥ sukhapradam | ekādaśehni nāmāsya na kṛtaṃ vidhipūrvakam

Translation

(That rite) is a means to pacify the sins connected with the womb and a bestower of happiness through one’s full span of life—yet on the eleventh day his naming rite was not performed according to proper rule.

Word by Word

• गर्भैनः: (the) sin connected with the womb (prenatal impurity)
• गर्भैनः: Shashthi-sambandha / Topic (सम्बन्ध/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्भ + एनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी/प्रथमा? एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (गर्भस्य एनः)

• शमने: in pacification / for appeasement
• शमने: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शमन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• हेतुः: cause
• हेतुः: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हेतु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• समस्तायुः: complete lifespan
• समस्तायुः: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समस्त + आयुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (समस्तम् आयुः)

• सुखप्रदम्: bestowing happiness
• सुखप्रदम्: Karta (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुख + प्रद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (सुखं प्रददाति इति)

• एकादशे: on the eleventh
• एकादशे: Adhikarana (Time locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकादश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (एक + दश)

• अह्नि: day
• अह्नि: Adhikarana (Time locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• नाम: name (naming)
• नाम: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• अस्य: of him
• अस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• न: not
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• कृतम्: was done
• कृतम्: Kriya (Predicate in passive sense/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past Passive Participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; धातु: √कृ (to do)

• विधिपूर्वकम्: according to proper procedure
• विधिपूर्वकम्: Adverbial modifier (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विधि + पूर्वक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; क्रियाविशेषण (according to rule)

Speaker

Citragupta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yama

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Citragupta points to a line in the ledger describing the 11th-day naming rite not done; symbolic imagery of an unperformed household ceremony—no elders blessing, no sacred fire—contrasted with the cosmic court.

Characters & Entities

• Citragupta
• Nāmakaraṇa (naming rite)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is upheld through ordained life-rites; ignoring them signals spiritual negligence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is specified in this verse; it belongs to the Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse points to the eleventh-day naming rite (nāmakaraṇa) as a rule-governed saṃskāra.