Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

अभिपश्यन्न कुर्वीत मलमूत्रविसर्जनम् । तिरस्कृत्यावनिं लोष्टकाष्ठपर्णतृणादिभिः

Transliteration

abhipaśyanna kurvīta malamūtravisarjanam | tiraskṛtyāvaniṃ loṣṭakāṣṭhaparṇatṛṇādibhiḥ

Translation

One should not discharge feces or urine while being observed. One should screen the ground by covering it with clods of earth, wood, leaves, grass, and the like.

Word by Word

• अभिपश्यन्: while looking (towards)
• अभिपश्यन्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-√पश् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्ययः), परस्मैपदी; प्रथमा-एकवचनम्, पुल्लिङ्ग (कर्तरि) — Present active participle, nominative singular masculine

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• कुर्वीत: should do
• कुर्वीत: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम् — should do

• मलमूत्रविसर्जनम्: discharge of feces and urine
• मलमूत्रविसर्जनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मल (प्रातिपदिक) + मूत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + विसर्जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचनम् — accusative singular neuter; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मलस्य मूत्रस्य च विसर्जनम्)

• तिरस्कृत्य: having concealed
• तिरस्कृत्य: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तिरस्-√कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund) — having covered/hidden

• अवनिम्: the ground
• अवनिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचनम् — accusative singular feminine

• लोष्टकाष्ठपर्णतृणादिभिः: with clods, sticks, leaves, grass, etc.
• लोष्टकाष्ठपर्णतृणादिभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोष्ट (प्रातिपदिक) + काष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक) + पर्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + तृण (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; तृतीया-बहुवचनम् — instrumental plural masculine; समाहार-द्वन्द्वः (लोष्ट-काष्ठ-पर्ण-तृण-आदि)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (general ācāra within the kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim in Kāśī discreetly screens a small patch of ground with clods, leaves, and grass near a grove, keeping distance from the river and public paths; the city’s sacred skyline is implied in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cleanliness and modesty are dharmic disciplines; even necessary bodily acts should be done with discretion and care.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the contextual sacred landscape in which such ācāra is prescribed.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Maintain privacy and screen/cover the area using natural materials before discharging waste.