Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 100

Devanagari script

अपत्यान्यपि जातानि किं कर्तव्यमिहास्ति मे । अवश्यमेव गंतव्याऽवाभ्यां वाराणसी पुरी

Transliteration

apatyānyapi jātāni kiṃ kartavyamihāsti me | avaśyameva gaṃtavyā'vābhyāṃ vārāṇasī purī

Translation

«Des enfants sont aussi nés ; quel devoir me reste-t-il ici ? Assurément, nous deux devons nous rendre à la cité de Vārāṇasī.»

Word by Word

• अपत्यानि: children, offspring
• अपत्यानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अपत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अप्यर्थक-अव्यय (also/even)

• जातानि: have been born
• जातानि: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त—क्त (PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘born’

• किम्: what
• किम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• कर्तव्यम्: is to be done
• कर्तव्यम्: Kriya (Obligation predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (Gerundive/Obligative), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘to be done/should be done’

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikarana (Place/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• अस्ति: is
• अस्ति: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदी

• मे: for me
• मे: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अवश्यम्: necessarily
• अवश्यम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अवश्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (adverb: necessarily)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphasis)

• गन्तव्या: must be gone to
• गन्तव्या: Kriya (Obligation predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (Gerundive/Obligative), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘(पुरी) must be gone to’ (destination implied)

• आवाभ्याम्: by us two, by both of us
• आवाभ्याम्: Karana (Agent/Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), द्विवचन; सर्वनाम

• वाराणसी: Vārāṇasī
• वाराणसी: Visheshana (Appositive qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाराणसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नगरनाम

• पुरी: city
• पुरी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Mālyaketu (the king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The royal couple stands together with travel staffs, facing a distant vision of Kāśī’s ghāṭas and temples; the Gaṅgā glimmers, and a faint outline of Viśveśvara’s shrine rises above the cityscape.

Characters & Entities

• Mālyaketu
• Kalāvatī
• Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When household duties are fulfilled, one may pursue the highest good through pilgrimage to a liberating kṣetra like Kāśī.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī (Kāśī), the famed city of liberation in the Skanda Purana.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The implied prescription is tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage) to Kāśī.