Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

रक्षणीयं महायत्नादिदं सुकृतभाजनम् । वपुः परस्य दुःस्पर्शात्सुखाभासात्मकात्स्त्रिया

Transliteration

rakṣaṇīyaṃ mahāyatnādidaṃ sukṛtabhājanam | vapuḥ parasya duḥsparśātsukhābhāsātmakātstriyā

Translation

This body—a vessel for meritorious deeds—must be guarded with great effort, kept far from the harmful touch of another man’s wife, whose pleasure is only the semblance of happiness.

Word by Word

• रक्षणीयम्: to be protected
• रक्षणीयम्: Kriya (Obligation/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: रक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: कृत्य-प्रत्यय (अनीयर्) — कर्तव्य/रक्षणार्ह (gerundive), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular) — विधेय-विशेषणम्

• महायत्नात्: with great effort
• महायत्नात्: Hetu/Upaya (Means/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + यत्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन (Masculine, Ablative, Singular) — उपाय/प्रकारार्थे (with great effort)

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karma/Pratipādya (Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular)

• सुकृत-भाजनम्: a vessel/receptacle of merit
• सुकृत-भाजनम्: Karta/Pratipādya (Predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुकृत (प्रातिपदिक) + भाजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular) — विधेय-नाम/विशेष्य (appositive to इदम्)

• वपुः: body
• वपुः: Karma/Pratipādya (Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वपुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular) — इदम्/सुकृतभाजनम् इत्यस्य विशेष्य (the body)

• परस्य: of another (man)
• परस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (Genitive, Singular); विशेषणम् (qualifier)

• दुःस्पर्शात्: from bad touch; from being touched (by another)
• दुःस्पर्शात्: Apadana/Hetu (Source/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुः (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + स्पर्श (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन (Masculine, Ablative, Singular) — अपादान/हेतु (from/because of)

• सुख-आभास-आत्मकात्: from that which is of the nature of a mere semblance of pleasure
• सुख-आभास-आत्मकात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुख (प्रातिपदिक) + आभास (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन (Ablative, Singular); विशेषणम् (qualifier of दुःस्पर्शात्/परस्य स्पर्शात् as ‘seeming-pleasant’)

• स्त्रिया: by a woman
• स्त्रिया: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (Feminine, Instrumental, Singular) — कर्तृकरण-भावे (agent in gerundive sense: ‘by a woman’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A calm instructive tableau: a pilgrim in Kāśī holding a water-pot and japa-mālā, surrounded by subtle temptations depicted as mirage-like forms; the body shown as a luminous vessel/kalasha labeled ‘sukṛta’.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Guard the body and mind as instruments of merit; illicit contact offers only illusory pleasure and harms spiritual progress.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is situated in the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s dharma teaching atmosphere; no single tirtha is named.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; it prescribes ethical restraint (avoidance of paradāra-saṅga) as a protective discipline.