Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

सर्वान्मनोरथांल्लेभे विना स्वर्गैकसाधनम् । गार्हस्थ्याश्रम नेपथ्यं पथ्यं पैतामहं महत्

Transliteration

sarvānmanorathāṃllebhe vinā svargaikasādhanam | gārhasthyāśrama nepathyaṃ pathyaṃ paitāmahaṃ mahat

Translation

He attained all the aims he longed for—save that single means to heaven. He took up the garb and discipline of the householder’s āśrama, the wholesome and venerable path handed down by the forefathers.

Word by Word

• सर्वान्: all
• सर्वान्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; मनोरथान् इत्यस्य विशेषण

• मनोरथान्: desires, wishes
• मनोरथान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनोरथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—मनस् + रथ (तत्पुरुषः)

• लेभे: obtained
• लेभे: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• विना: without
• विना: Sambandha (Exclusion/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विना (अव्यय)
• Form: उपसर्गसदृश-अव्यय/निषेधार्थक (preposition-like indeclinable: without)

• स्वर्गैकसाधनम्: the sole means to heaven
• स्वर्गैकसाधनम्: Karma (Excluded object with विना/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर्ग + एक + साधन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—स्वर्गस्य एकं साधनम् (तत्पुरुषः)

• गार्हस्थ्याश्रमम्: the householder stage
• गार्हस्थ्याश्रमम्: Karma (Object—implied with ‘accepted/undertook’/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गार्हस्थ्य + आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—गार्हस्थ्यस्य आश्रमः (तत्पुरुषः)

• नेपथ्यम्: attire, equipment (metaph. regimen)
• नेपथ्यम्: Karma (Apposition to गार्हस्थ्याश्रमम्/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नेपथ्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; रूपक-प्रयोगः ‘attire/equipment’

• पथ्यम्: wholesome, proper
• पथ्यम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पथ्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नेपथ्यम् इत्यस्य विशेषण

• पैतामहम्: ancestral, of the forefathers
• पैतामहम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पैतामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नेपथ्यम् इत्यस्य विशेषण (‘ancestral’)

• महत्: great
• महत्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नेपथ्यम् इत्यस्य विशेषण

Speaker

Skanda

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Primary interlocutor(s) of Kāśīkhaṇḍa discourse

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pūrṇabhadra adopts the marks of a disciplined householder—clean garments, sacred thread, calm posture—performing daily rites with fire and offerings, while worldly luxuries recede to the background.

Characters & Entities

• Gārhasthya-āśrama
• Svarga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma honors the gṛhastha path as a venerable, tradition-rooted discipline—yet reminds that higher spiritual means may still be required.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific site is named in this verse; it provides ethical-āśrama context within the chapter’s Kāśī-centered narrative arc.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse generally points to gṛhastha observances (āśrama-nepathya, proper discipline), without listing a specific rite.