Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

प्रजासंतापजोवह्निर्वज्राग्नेरपि दारुणः । द्वित्रान्दहति वज्राग्निः पूर्वो राज्यं कुलं तनुम्

Transliteration

prajāsaṃtāpajovahnirvajrāgnerapi dāruṇaḥ | dvitrāndahati vajrāgniḥ pūrvo rājyaṃ kulaṃ tanum

Translation

Le feu né de la souffrance du peuple est plus terrible encore que le feu de la foudre. Le feu de la foudre ne brûle que deux ou trois ; mais l’autre consume le royaume, la lignée et le corps même du roi.

Word by Word

• prajā-santāpa-jaḥ: born of the subjects’ distress
• prajā-santāpa-jaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prajā (प्रातिपदिक) + santāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + ja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (सम्बन्ध/उत्पत्त्यर्थ): ‘प्रजासन्तापात् जातः’

• vahniḥ: fire
• vahniḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vahni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• vajra-agneḥ: of the thunderbolt-fire
• vajra-agneḥ: Sambandha (Comparison base/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vajra (प्रातिपदिक) + agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th, Genitive), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (‘वज्रस्य अग्निः’ = thunderbolt-fire)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (even)

• dāruṇaḥ: terrible
• dāruṇaḥ: Kriya (Predicate adjective/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dāruṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

• dvi-trān: two or three generations
• dvi-trān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvi (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + trān (प्रातिपदिक; ‘त्र’/‘त्रा’ = generations, here ‘त्रान्’ as acc. pl.)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; द्विगु-समास; अर्थः ‘द्वि/त्रि-पुरुषान्’ (two/three generations)

• dahati: burns
• dahati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• vajra-agniḥ: thunderbolt-fire
• vajra-agniḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vajra (प्रातिपदिक) + agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (‘वज्रस्य अग्निः’)

• pūrvaḥ: the former/earlier (i.e., the first fire)
• pūrvaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (पूर्वो = पूर्वः)

• rājyam: kingdom
• rājyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• kulam: family/lineage
• kulam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• tanum: body
• tanum: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

A dharmaśīla king (addressing a Brāhmaṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An allegorical vision: a dark, towering flame labeled ‘prajā-santāpa’ rises from weeping citizens and engulfs palace, family banner, and the king’s silhouette; beside it a smaller lightning-fire burns only a few trees—contrast of scale.

Characters & Entities

• Prajā (subjects)
• Vajra (thunderbolt)
• Rājya
• Kula

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A ruler must fear the suffering of the people more than any external calamity; injustice invites total ruin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is embedded in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative milieu of Kāśī, though no single tīrtha is named in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; it is a warning that ethical governance is itself a decisive religious obligation.