Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 110

Devanagari script

तृणीकृत्य निजं देहं यत्र राजर्षिसत्तमः । हरिश्चंद्रः सपत्नीको व्यक्रीणाद्भूरयं हि सा

Transliteration

tṛṇīkṛtya nijaṃ dehaṃ yatra rājarṣisattamaḥ | hariścaṃdraḥ sapatnīko vyakrīṇādbhūrayaṃ hi sā

Translation

Voici le lieu même où Hariścandra, le plus éminent des rājārṣi, avec son épouse, tenant son propre corps pour simple brin d’herbe, se vendit lui-même.

Word by Word

• तृणी-कृत्य: having treated as straw
• तृणी-कृत्य: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Absolutive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृण (प्रातिपदिक) + कृ (धातु) → तृणीकृत्य (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्)
• Form: नामधातु/कृदन्त; क्त्वान्त (having made as straw; having treated as straw)

• निजम्: one's own
• निजम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (देहम्)

• देहम्: body
• देहम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्ध/देशवाचक अव्यय (where)

• राजर्षि-सत्तमः: the best of royal sages
• राजर्षि-सत्तमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजर्षि (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (राजर्षीणां सत्तमः); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• हरिश्चन्द्रः: Hariścandra
• हरिश्चन्द्रः: Apposition (समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरिश्चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सपत्नी-कः: together with his wife
• सपत्नी-कः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (उपसर्ग/सह) + पत्नी (प्रातिपदिक) + क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (सपत्नीका यस्य सः); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (हरिश्चन्द्रः)

• व्यक्रीणात्: sold
• व्यक्रीणात्: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि+क्री (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• भूः: the earth/land
• भूः: Karma/Viśeṣya (Object/predicate)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Apposition (समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (भूः इयं → भूः अयम् by sandhi in text)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/indeed)

• सा: she/that (river/land)
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hariścandra-sthāna (traditionally linked to Hariścandra Ghāṭa)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solemn spot in Kāśī where King Hariścandra, with his wife beside him, stands resolute, regarding his own body as worthless and offering himself for sale—an image of truth under crushing hardship.

Characters & Entities

• Hariścandra
• Hariścandra’s wife (unnamed here)
• Kāśī (implied sacred locale)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Truth and dharma can demand total self-surrender; Hariścandra exemplifies unwavering satya even at the cost of the body.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A famed spot in Kāśī connected with Hariścandra’s self-sale—remembered as part of Kāśī’s tīrtha-map and moral memory.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it is tīrtha-smaraṇa (remembering a sacred place) through a dharmic exemplar.