Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 86

Devanagari script

लाक्षालवणमांसानां सतैलविषसर्पिषाम् । आयुधेक्षुविकाराणां विक्रेतारं द्विजाधमम्

Transliteration

lākṣālavaṇamāṃsānāṃ satailaviṣasarpiṣām | āyudhekṣuvikārāṇāṃ vikretāraṃ dvijādhamam

Translation

« Saisis ce brāhmaṇa vil qui vit de la vente de la laque, du sel et de la viande, ainsi que de l’huile, du poison et du ghee, et encore des armes et des produits de la canne à sucre. »

Word by Word

• लाक्षा: lac
• लाक्षा: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लाक्षा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (feminine; nominative/accusative singular; compound-member stem)

• लवण: salt
• लवण: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लवण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter; nominative/accusative singular; compound-member stem)

• मांसानाम्: of lac, salt, and meats
• मांसानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मांस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), बहुवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्वः: लाक्षा+लवण+मांस (neuter; genitive plural)

• स: with
• स: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (प्रातिपदिक; उपसर्गवत् समासाङ्ग)
• Form: अव्ययप्राय-समासाङ्ग; ‘स-’ = ‘सहित’ (indeclinable-like prefix meaning ‘with’)

• तैल: oil
• तैल: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तैल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter; nominative/accusative singular; compound-member stem)

• विष: poison
• विष: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter; nominative/accusative singular; compound-member stem)

• सर्पिषाम्: of (those) with oil, poison, and ghee
• सर्पिषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्पिस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), बहुवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्वः: (स-)तैल+विष+सर्पिस् (neuter; genitive plural)

• आयुध: weapons
• आयुध: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आयुध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter; nominative/accusative singular; compound-member stem)

• इक्षु: sugarcane
• इक्षु: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इक्षु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (masculine; nominative/accusative singular; compound-member stem)

• विकाराणाम्: of weapons and sugarcane-products
• विकाराणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), बहुवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्वः: आयुध+इक्षु-विकार (masculine; genitive plural)

• विक्रेतारम्: the seller
• विक्रेतारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वि√क्री (धातु) + तृ (कृत् प्रत्यय) → विक्रेतृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), एकवचन; कर्तरि-तृन्त (masculine; accusative singular; agent-noun ‘seller’)

• द्विजाधमम्: the lowest of Brahmins
• द्विजाधमम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + अधम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘द्विजानाम् अधमः’) (masculine; accusative singular)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yama’s attendants identify and seize a fallen brāhmaṇa-merchant surrounded by symbols of forbidden trade—lac lumps, salt sacks, meat hooks, oil jars, poison vial, ghee pot, weapons, and sugarcane products—set against a distant silhouette of Kāśī’s ghāṭas as a moral counterpoint.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Yamadūta
• Kāśī (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is not merely birth-based; unethical livelihood and harmful commerce degrade one’s spiritual standing and invite karmic consequences.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader frame is Kāśī in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where moral order and liberation are discussed against the sacred geography of Vārāṇasī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; the verse is a juridical-moral warning about forbidden occupations.