Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 97

Devanagari script

न मांकृत वपुस्त्राणं भवच्चरणरेणुभिः । कालः कलयितुं शक्तो वराकी चंचलाल्पिका

Transliteration

na māṃkṛta vapustrāṇaṃ bhavaccaraṇareṇubhiḥ | kālaḥ kalayituṃ śakto varākī caṃcalālpikā

Translation

Ne faites pas de mon corps une «chose à protéger» avec la poussière de vos pieds. Le Temps n’a pas le pouvoir de me mesurer—ce Temps, misérable, changeant et si petit.

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; object

• kṛta: made
• kṛta: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛ (धातु) → kṛta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; used with vapustrāṇam: ‘made’

• vapuḥ-trāṇam: protection for the body
• vapuḥ-trāṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vapus (प्रातिपदिक) + trāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: वपुस्त्राण; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; object (understood: ‘(as) a protection for the body’)

• bhavat-caraṇa-reṇubhiḥ: by the dust of your feet
• bhavat-caraṇa-reṇubhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + caraṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + reṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: भवच्चरणरेणु; पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; instrumental ‘by the dust of your feet’

• kālaḥ: Time
• kālaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; subject

• kalayitum: to affect; to measure
• kalayitum: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kal (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive); ‘to count/measure/affect’

• śaktaḥ: able
• śaktaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śakta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; predicate adjective with kālaḥ

• varākī: the poor (woman/thing)
• varākī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varākī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; apposition (to some feminine entity, e.g., vidyut)

• caṃcala-alpikā: fickle and small
• caṃcala-alpikā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: caṃcala (प्रातिपदिक) + alpikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: चञ्चलाल्पिका (चञ्चला च सा अल्पिका च); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; qualifies varākī

Speaker

Agastya (as character in the narrative)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (His parents within the story)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Agastya speaks firmly, gently stopping parents from touching his body with foot-dust; behind him a symbolic wheel of time appears small and broken, indicating Kāla’s impotence before his stature.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Kāla
• Kāśī
• Skanda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True spiritual stature is not shaken by Time; devotion and realization render fear of Kāla insignificant.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Implicitly Kāśī’s salvific atmosphere where fear of death is overcome, though the verse does not name a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it rejects ordinary protective gestures and asserts transcendence over Time.