Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

नास्तिका वेदबाह्याश्च शिश्नोदरपरायणाः । अंत्यजाताश्च ये तेषां पुरः काशी न वर्ण्यताम्

Transliteration

nāstikā vedabāhyāśca śiśnodaraparāyaṇāḥ | aṃtyajātāśca ye teṣāṃ puraḥ kāśī na varṇyatām

Translation

Devant les athées, ceux qui sont hors du Veda, ceux qui ne suivent que le désir et le ventre, et les esprits vils, Kāśī ne doit pas être décrite.

Word by Word

• नास्तिकाः: atheists
• नास्तिकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नास्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• वेदबाह्याः: outside the Veda (non-Vedic)
• वेदबाह्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वेदबाह्य (प्रातिपदिक; वेद + बाह्य)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषण (qualifying ‘नास्तिकाः’)

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

• शिश्नोदरपरायणाः: devoted to lust and belly (sex and gluttony)
• शिश्नोदरपरायणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिश्न-उदर-परायण (प्रातिपदिक; शिश्न + उदर + परायण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषण

• अन्त्यजाताः: those born in the lowest (castes)
• अन्त्यजाताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्त्यजात (प्रातिपदिक; अन्त्य + जात)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

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

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• पुरः: before, in the presence of
• पुरः: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: “in front of, before”)

• काशी: Kāśī
• काशी: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात (negation)

• वर्ण्यताम्: let (it) not be described
• वर्ण्यताम्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वर्ण् (धातु; वर्णँ—वर्णने)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (as guarded teaching)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Muni/audience of sages (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage pauses instruction at the threshold of a hermitage/temple courtyard, allowing devoted listeners to enter while turning away coarse, mocking figures symbolizing nāstika and sense-indulgent types.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Veda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred teachings require receptivity; speaking holy praise to contemptuous, sense-driven hearers is discouraged.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī—its sanctity is treated as a confidential praise not to be offered in hostile settings.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A conduct rule: refrain from expounding Kāśī-māhātmya to irreverent audiences.