Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

स्थिरापायः सदा कायो न धनं निधनेऽवति । तन्मूढः प्रौढकार्ये किं न यतेत भवानिव

Transliteration

sthirāpāyaḥ sadā kāyo na dhanaṃ nidhane'vati | tanmūḍhaḥ prauḍhakārye kiṃ na yateta bhavāniva

Translation

Le corps va toujours vers la ruine, et la richesse ne protège pas à l’heure de la mort. Pourquoi donc l’insensé ne s’efforcerait-il pas vers le but vraiment grand—comme tu l’as fait?

Word by Word

• स्थिरापायः: having certain destruction / surely perishing
• स्थिरापायः: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थिर (प्रातिपदिक) + अपाय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (Masculine, Nominative, Singular; adjective)

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kriyavisheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• कायः: body
• कायः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

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

• धनम्: wealth
• धनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Nominative, Singular)

• निधने: at death/in destruction
• निधने: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निधन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन (Neuter, Locative, Singular)

• अवति: protects/saves
• अवति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अव् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (Present, Parasmaipada, 3rd person, Singular)

• तत्: therefore/then
• तत्: Sambandha (Discourse link/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: निपातवत् निर्देश (correlative particle: then/therefore)

• मूढः: a deluded (person)
• मूढः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मूढ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (Masculine, Nominative, Singular; adjective used substantively)

• प्रौढकार्ये: in serious/important duty
• प्रौढकार्ये: Adhikarana (Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रौढ (प्रातिपदिक) + कार्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन (Neuter, Locative, Singular)

• किम्: why
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative particle: why?)

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

• यतेत: should strive
• यतेत: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √यत् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (Optative, Ātmanepada, 3rd person, Singular)

• भवान्: you (honorific)
• भवान्: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवत् (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनामवत्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Honorific pronoun-like noun; Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• इव: like/as
• इव: Upama (Comparison marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमावाचक-अव्यय (comparative particle)

Speaker

Dharmarāja (Yama)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis / implied pilgrims

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A person holding coins and ornaments watches them slip through fingers as a funeral pyre is seen in the distance; the same person turns toward a Śiva shrine and Gaṅgā, symbolizing the ‘great aim’.

Characters & Entities

• Dharmarāja (Yama)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Recognize mortality: since body and wealth fail at death, one should pursue the highest dharmic and liberating goal.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No individual tīrtha is named; it belongs to the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī-centered discourse on liberation and right striving.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; it urges purposeful striving (prayatna) toward the ‘great work’—dharma and liberation.