Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

हितैरमात्यैरथ सा विज्ञप्तारिष्टसंस्थिता । देवि राजार्थिनी चेत्त्वं त्यज दुष्टर्क्षजं सुतम्

Transliteration

hitairamātyairatha sā vijñaptāriṣṭasaṃsthitā | devi rājārthinī cettvaṃ tyaja duṣṭarkṣajaṃ sutam

Translation

Then, well-meaning ministers informed the queen—now gripped by foreboding: “O Devī, if you seek the welfare of the king and kingdom, abandon this son born under an inauspicious constellation.”

Word by Word

• hitaiḥ: by well-wishing
• hitaiḥ: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया, बहुवचन (instrumental plural; beneficial/well-wishing)

• amātyaiḥ: by ministers
• amātyaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: amātya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया, बहुवचन (instrumental plural)

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तरार्थक (then)

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन (nominative singular)

• vijñaptā: was informed/was petitioned
• vijñaptā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√jñap (ज्ञप् धातु) + kta (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (having been informed/entreated)

• ariṣṭa-saṃsthitā: being in peril/under misfortune
• ariṣṭa-saṃsthitā: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ariṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃsthita (कृदन्त; √sthā धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; अरिष्टे संस्थिता इति सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषः; √sthā धातोः क्त (situated in danger/ill-omen)

• devi: O queen/lady
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन, एकवचन (vocative singular)

• rāja-arthinī: seeking the king’s good
• rāja-arthinī: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rāja (प्रातिपदिक) + arthinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; राज्ञः अर्थिनी इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (nominative singular; seeking the king's welfare/interest)

• cet: if
• cet: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: cet (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; शर्तार्थक (conditional particle; if)

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; प्रथमा, एकवचन (nominative singular; you)

• tyaja: abandon
• tyaja: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tyaj (त्यज् धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम् (abandon)

• duṣṭa-ṛkṣa-jam: born from an evil constellation
• duṣṭa-ṛkṣa-jam: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + ṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + ja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; दुष्टात् ऋक्षात् जातः इति पञ्चमी-तत्पुरुषः (accusative singular; born under an evil asterism)

• sutam: son
• sutam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: suta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन (accusative singular)

Speaker

Narrator voice (deductively: Skanda to Agastya), reporting the ministers’ counsel

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ministers, anxious and calculating, warn the queen to abandon the child due to an ‘inauspicious’ birth-star; the queen is shown troubled yet resolute.

Characters & Entities

• Ministers (amātya)
• Queen (rājñī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It presents a dharma-conflict: political prudence and fear of omens versus parental duty and compassion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī setting frames the narrative, though the verse itself is a courtly episode without a named tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is advisory speech concerning perceived inauspiciousness.