Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

शिवं प्रसंगतोभ्यर्च्य सकृत्त्वशुचिचेतसः । अल्पपुण्याल्पलक्ष्मी काः पिशाचास्त इमे सखे

Transliteration

śivaṃ prasaṃgatobhyarcya sakṛttvaśucicetasaḥ | alpapuṇyālpalakṣmī kāḥ piśācāsta ime sakhe

Translation

“These, friend, are piśācas—of little merit and little fortune—who, though they once happened to worship Śiva, did so with an impure mind.”

Word by Word

• शिवम्: Śiva
• शिवम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• प्रसङ्गतः: by chance/incidentally
• प्रसङ्गतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रसङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb)

• अभ्यर्च्य: having worshipped
• अभ्यर्च्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि+अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), पूर्वकाल

• सकृत्: once
• सकृत्: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सकृत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; संख्यावाचक/कालवाचक (once)

• त्व: indeed/just
• त्व: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: त्व (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पदपूरण/निपात (emphatic particle)

• शुचि-चेतसः: pure-minded
• शुचि-चेतसः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुचि (प्रातिपदिक) + चेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय (शुचि चेतः येषाम्)

• अल्प-पुण्य-अल्प-लक्ष्मी: of little merit and little fortune
• अल्प-पुण्य-अल्प-लक्ष्मी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अल्प (प्रातिपदिक) + पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक) + अल्प (प्रातिपदिक) + लक्ष्मी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (piśācāḥ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्); बहुपद-कर्मधारय (अल्पं पुण्यं यस्य, अल्पा लक्ष्मी यस्य)

• काः: what kind of?/which?
• काः: Prashna (Interrogative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (interrogative)

• पिशाचाः: piśācas
• पिशाचाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिशाच (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ते: those
• ते: Visheshya (Referent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• इमे: these
• इमे: Visheshya (Referent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• सखे: O friend
• सखे: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सखि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Śiva’s Gaṇas (two attendants)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Companion/traveler addressed as ‘sakhā’

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contrast tableau: piśācas shown as ‘alpapuṇya-alpalakṣmī’, while a faint memory of a single, careless Śiva-arcana appears like a dim vignette—an offering made without devotion.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Piśāca

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

External worship without inner purity gives only limited spiritual fruit; intention (bhāva) matters.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is not a tīrtha-stuti; it is a doctrinal note within the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s teaching narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An implied prescription: worship Śiva with śuddha-citta (purity of mind), not merely as a casual act.