Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

ये स्वामिनं विहायाजौ बहुमानधना जनाः । यांति ते यांति नियतमंधतामिस्रमालयम्

Transliteration

ye svāminaṃ vihāyājau bahumānadhanā janāḥ | yāṃti te yāṃti niyatamaṃdhatāmisramālayam

Translation

Ceux-là—fussent-ils comblés d’honneurs et de richesses—qui abandonnent leur seigneur sur le champ de bataille, vont assurément au séjour d’Andhatāmisra, la ténèbre aveuglante.

Word by Word

• ये: those who
• ये: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (relative pronoun)

• स्वामिनम्: their master
• स्वामिनम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वामिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• विहाय: having abandoned
• विहाय: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + हा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund)

• आजौ: in battle
• आजौ: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आजि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• बहुमानधनाः: having much honor and wealth
• बहुमानधनाः: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु + मान + धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि-समास (बहुमानं धनं येषां ते); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying जनाः)

• जनाः: people
• जनाः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• यान्ति: go
• यान्ति: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• यान्ति: go
• यान्ति: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन (repetition for emphasis)

• नियतं: certainly
• नियतं: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नियत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; नि + यम् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग/क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial accusative: certainly/inevitably)

• अन्धतामिस्रमालयम्: the abode of blind darkness (hell)
• अन्धतामिस्रमालयम्: Gati/Karma (Destination as object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्धतामिस्र + आलय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अन्धतामिस्रस्य आलयम्); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Dānavas/Daitya warriors (collective, inferred)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stark pronouncement: those who desert their lord in battle—despite honor and wealth—go surely to Andhatāmisra, the realm of blinding darkness; the imagery turns from battlefield to infernal moral consequence.

Characters & Entities

• Svāmin (Andhaka, implied)
• Andhatāmisra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly status cannot erase adharma; betrayal of duty—especially abandonment in crisis—leads to grave spiritual consequence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse states a dharma-based consequence (naraka) rather than a ritual.