Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणा यदि नष्टाः स्युर्वेदा नष्टास्ततः स्वयम् । आम्नायेषु प्रणष्टेषु विनष्टाः शततंतवः

Transliteration

brāhmaṇā yadi naṣṭāḥ syurvedā naṣṭāstataḥ svayam | āmnāyeṣu praṇaṣṭeṣu vinaṣṭāḥ śatataṃtavaḥ

Translation

Si les Brāhmaṇa venaient à périr, les Veda périraient d’eux-mêmes ensuite. Et lorsque les āmnāya, les transmissions sacrées, sont détruits, les continuités centuples de la tradition sont anéanties.

Word by Word

• ब्राह्मणाः: Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Logical connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/शर्तसूचक-अव्यय (conditional particle)

• नष्टाः: destroyed, lost
• नष्टाः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: naṣṭa (कृदन्त; √naś (नश्) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृत (past passive participle)

• स्युः: would be
• स्युः: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस्)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural)

• वेदाः: the Vedas
• वेदाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• नष्टाः: destroyed
• नष्टाः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: naṣṭa (कृदन्त; √naś (नश्) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP)

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Kāla/Anvaya (Temporal sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादान/क्रमसूचक (then, thereupon)

• स्वयम्: of themselves
• स्वयम्: Prayojaka-bhāva (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आत्मार्थक (reflexive/emphatic: oneself)

• आम्नायेषु: in the sacred transmissions (Vedic recensions/traditions)
• आम्नायेषु: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āmnāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), बहुवचन

• प्रणष्टेषु: when (they are) utterly destroyed
• प्रणष्टेषु: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of āmnāyeṣu)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: praṇaṣṭa (कृदन्त; √naś (नश्) + प्र + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP)

• विनष्टाः: ruined, perished
• विनष्टाः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vinaṣṭa (कृदन्त; √naś (नश्) + वि + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP)

• शततंतवः: the hundred threads (i.e., many lineages/continuities)
• शततंतवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata-tantu (प्रातिपदिक; śata + tantu)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-प्रायः तत्पुरुषसमास (hundred-threaded)

Speaker

Skanda (narration to Agastya, inferred)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A somber assembly in Kāśī: aged Veda-reciting brāhmaṇas with palm-leaf manuscripts; fading sacred fire; broken rosaries and scattered śāstra leaves symbolizing ruptured āmnāya.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas
• Vedas
• Āmnāya (sacred transmission)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual culture survives through living transmission; when custodians and lineages are harmed, scripture and practice collapse together.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named; the passage supports the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s broader dharmic focus associated with Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse stresses preservation of āmnāya (recensional transmission) as essential.