Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

अपत्यापत्यमालोक्य ग्राम्याहारान्विसृज्य च । पत्नीं पुत्रेषु संत्यज्य पत्न्या वा वनमाविशेत्

Transliteration

apatyāpatyamālokya grāmyāhārānvisṛjya ca | patnīṃ putreṣu saṃtyajya patnyā vā vanamāviśet

Translation

Ayant vu ses enfants et petits-enfants en sûreté, et renonçant aux nourritures du monde, il doit confier son épouse à ses fils; ou bien, avec son épouse, entrer dans la forêt.

Word by Word

• अपत्य: offspring/child
• अपत्य: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अपत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• अपत्यम्: offspring/descendants
• अपत्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अपत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; पूर्वपदेन सह द्वन्द्वार्थे पुनरुक्ति (children and grandchildren/descendants)

• आलोक्य: having seen
• आलोक्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: लोक् (धातु) + आ (उपसर्ग) + ल्यप् (अव्ययकृदन्त)
• Form: ल्यबन्त/ल्यपन्त अव्यय (gerund)

• ग्राम्याहारान्: worldly/village foods
• ग्राम्याहारान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्राम्य (प्रातिपदिक) + आहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; समासः—ग्राम्याः आहाराः (कर्मधारय)

• विसृज्य: having abandoned
• विसृज्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सृज् (धातु) + वि (उपसर्ग) + ल्यप् (अव्ययकृदन्त)
• Form: ल्यपन्त अव्यय (gerund)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• पत्नीम्: wife
• पत्नीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्नी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• पुत्रेषु: among/with the sons
• पुत्रेषु: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), बहुवचन

• संत्यज्य: having entrusted/left behind
• संत्यज्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: त्यज् (धातु) + सम् (उपसर्ग) + ल्यप् (अव्ययकृदन्त)
• Form: ल्यपन्त अव्यय (gerund)

• पत्न्या: with the wife
• पत्न्या: Sahakaraka (Instrument/Associate/सहकारक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्नी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (disjunctive particle)

• वनम्: forest
• वनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• आविशेत्: should enter
• आविशेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विश् (धातु) + आ (उपसर्ग)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A couple at life’s turning point: the husband, austere and calm, gestures toward the forest; sons stand respectfully, receiving responsibility; simple food vessels are set aside, indicating abandonment of worldly diet.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Wife (Patnī)
• Sons (Putra)
• Forest (Vana)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Renunciation should be responsible: after ensuring family continuity, one may withdraw from worldly life for spiritual practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tirtha is named in this verse; it belongs to the Kāśī-khaṇḍa’s broader dharma framework associated with the sacred field of Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Abandoning grāmya (worldly) diet and formally entering vānaprastha, either alone (after entrusting the wife to sons) or together with the wife.