Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

अहो पुंसां महामोहस्त्वहो पुंसां प्रमादता । वासुदेवमनादृत्य यदन्यत्र कृतश्रमाः

Transliteration

aho puṃsāṃ mahāmohastvaho puṃsāṃ pramādatā | vāsudevamanādṛtya yadanyatra kṛtaśramāḥ

Translation

Hélas, quelle grande illusion chez les hommes, quelle grande négligence ! Délaissant Vāsudeva, ils peinent et s’épuisent ailleurs pour des buts inférieurs.

Word by Word

• अहो: alas!
• अहो: Sambandha (Exclamation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: aho (अव्यय)
• Form: विस्मय/खेद-निपात (exclamatory particle: alas/oh)

• पुंसाम्: of men/people
• पुंसाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṃs (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• महामोहः: great delusion
• महामोहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + moha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (महान् मोहः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: but/indeed; contrast/emphasis)

• अहो: alas!
• अहो: Sambandha (Exclamation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: aho (अव्यय)
• Form: विस्मय/खेद-निपात

• पुंसाम्: of men/people
• पुंसाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṃs (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• प्रमादता: carelessness, negligence
• प्रमादता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pramādatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वासुदेवम्: Vāsudeva
• वासुदेवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāsudeva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अनादृत्य: having disregarded
• अनादृत्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: an-ā-√dṛ (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृत्)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्-अव्ययभाव: gerund), ‘having disregarded/without honoring’

• यत्: since/that
• यत्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: हेतु/सम्बन्धे अव्ययवत् (yad = since/that)

• अन्यत्र: elsewhere
• अन्यत्र: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anyatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देश/विषयवाचक-अव्यय (elsewhere/otherwise)

• कृतश्रमाः: those who have labored (in vain)
• कृतश्रमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛta (प्रातिपदिक; √kṛ + kta) + śrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कृतः श्रमः येषाम्/कृत-श्रम = having exerted), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; बहुव्रीह्यर्थे विशेषण (qualifying implied ‘जनाः’)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (teaching context)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two parallel scenes: people straining for wealth and status in a bustling city; beside them, a calm devotee chanting Vāsudeva on a ghat. A veil labeled ‘moha’ lifts from the crowd as they turn toward the deity.

Characters & Entities

• Vāsudeva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human effort becomes misdirected when devotion to Vāsudeva is neglected; the verse urges reordering life around the divine.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Kāśī-khaṇḍa milieu is the setting; no individual tīrtha is singled out in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite; it is an ethical-spiritual admonition to prioritize devotion to Vāsudeva.