Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

इयमेव परा हानिरुपसर्गो यमेवहि । अभाग्यं परमं चैतद्वासुदेवं न यत्स्मरेत्

Transliteration

iyameva parā hānirupasargo yamevahi | abhāgyaṃ paramaṃ caitadvāsudevaṃ na yatsmaret

Translation

Ceci seul est la perte suprême ; ceci seul est, en vérité, l’affliction : le malheur le plus grand est de ne pas se souvenir de Vāsudeva.

Word by Word

• iyam: this (she/this)
• iyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अव्यय; अवधानार्थक

• parā: supreme/great
• parā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• hāniḥ: loss/ruin
• hāniḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hāni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• upasargaḥ: calamity/affliction
• upasargaḥ: Pradhāna-predicative (Apposition/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upasarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• yam: which/that (one)
• yam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात, अव्यय; अवधानार्थक

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात, अव्यय

• abhāgyam: misfortune
• abhāgyam: Pradhāna-predicative (Predicate nominative/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abhāgya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• paramam: supreme/greatest
• paramam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; विशेषण

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय

• etat: this
• etat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• vāsudevam: Vāsudeva
• vāsudevam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāsudeva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

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

• yat: that/if (one) who
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम; (यत् ... स्मरेत्)

• smaret: should remember
• smaret: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (general)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim in Kāśī looks distressed amid worldly bustle; above, a luminous Vāsudeva form appears as a reminder. The contrast shows ‘upasarga’ as inner forgetfulness, resolved by turning to the divine name.

Characters & Entities

• Vāsudeva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Forgetting the Divine is portrayed as the root calamity; remembrance (smaraṇa) is the essential safeguard.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching is situated in the Kāśī-khaṇḍa narrative world; the verse itself is not tied to a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Smaraṇa—continual remembrance of Vāsudeva.