Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 91

Devanagari script

अग्रे माहिषिकं दृष्ट्वा मध्ये च वृषलीपतिम् । अंते वार्धुषिकं चैव निराशाः पितरो गताः

Transliteration

agre māhiṣikaṃ dṛṣṭvā madhye ca vṛṣalīpatim | aṃte vārdhuṣikaṃ caiva nirāśāḥ pitaro gatāḥ

Translation

Voyant au commencement un māhiṣika, au milieu un époux de vṛṣalī, et à la fin un vārdhuṣika, les Pitṛs s’en vont, déçus.

Word by Word

• अग्रे: in front / at the beginning
• अग्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावार्थे (locative adverbial)

• माहिषिकम्: a māhiṣika (one who desires an adulterous woman)
• माहिषिकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहिषिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दृश् (धातु) + क्त्वा (कृदन्त-अव्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund); पूर्वक्रिया

• मध्ये: in the middle
• मध्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावार्थे

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• वृषलीपतिम्: husband of a śūdra woman
• वृषलीपतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषली (प्रातिपदिक) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (वृषल्याः पतिः); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• अन्ते: at the end
• अन्ते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावार्थे

• वार्धुषिकम्: a profiteer/usurer
• वार्धुषिकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वार्धुषिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

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

• निराशाः: hopeless / disappointed
• निराशाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निराश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (पितरः)

• पितरः: forefathers
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (पितृ-शब्दः)

• गताः: went / departed
• गताः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त) प्रयुक्तः; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; लुप्त-कोपुला (गताः = have gone)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A śrāddha setting by a Kāśī ghāṭ: offerings laid out; three symbolic figures appear at beginning, middle, end; translucent Pitṛs rise and depart with sorrowful faces; the performer looks distressed.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• māhiṣika
• vṛṣalī
• vārdhuṣika

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pitṛ-satisfaction depends on the purity of setting and participants; association with immoral or exploitative persons obstructs ancestral rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching appears in the Kāśī-khaṇḍa (Vārāṇasī’s sacred dharma context), emphasizing correct conduct in rites rather than a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied śrāddha/offerings etiquette: avoid beginning/middle/end contamination of the rite by presence/association with such persons, lest the Pitṛs depart unsatisfied.