Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

परं न देवि गंतव्यं महामानधनेच्छुभिः । अनाहूत तया कांते मातापितृगृहानपि

Transliteration

paraṃ na devi gaṃtavyaṃ mahāmānadhanecchubhiḥ | anāhūta tayā kāṃte mātāpitṛgṛhānapi

Translation

Ô Devī, il ne faut pas s’en aller en quête de grand honneur et de richesse. Ô bien-aimée, si elle ne t’a pas convié, n’entre pas même dans la maison de tes propres parents.

Word by Word

• param: at all; ever (emphatic)
• param: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/उपपद), निषेधवाक्ये ‘परम्’ = ‘अत्यन्तम्/कदापि न’ (emphatic particle)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध-निपात)

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• gantavyam: should be gone; should go
• gantavyam: Kriya (Obligation/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (गम् धातु) + tavya (तव्य प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (तव्यत्/तव्य), भावे/कर्मणि प्रयोगः; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अर्थः ‘गन्तव्यम्’ = ‘to be gone/should go’

• mahā-māna-dhana-icchubhiḥ: by those desiring great honor and wealth
• mahā-māna-dhana-icchubhiḥ: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + māna (प्रातिपदिक) + dhana (प्रातिपदिक) + icchu (इच्छु प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3/करण), बहुवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) ‘महामानधन’ (महच्च मानं धनं च) + ‘इच्छुभिः’ = ‘महामानधनेच्छुभिः’

• anāhūtā: uninvited
• anāhūtā: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-hū (आह्वा/हू धातु) + na- (नञ्)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/भूतकर्मणि), नञ्-पूर्वक; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अर्थः ‘अनाहूता’ = ‘not invited/called’

• tayā: by her
• tayā: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3/करण), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• kānte: O beloved
• kānte: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kānta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• mātā-pitṛ-gṛhān: (to) the parents’ home
• mātā-pitṛ-gṛhān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2/कर्म), बहुवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) ‘मातापितृगृह’ = ‘mother-and-father’s houses/home’

• api: even; also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/अपि = ‘even/also’)

Speaker

Śiva (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative context)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (frame typical) / audience of the māhātmya (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An intimate domestic scene in Kāśī: a revered male figure counsels Devī with calm gravity, warning against leaving for honor/wealth; the background hints at Kāśī’s lanes and a distant temple spire.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Mahādeva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Do not let pride and the craving for wealth drive impulsive movement; dharma values propriety, invitation, and self-restraint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader context is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where correct conduct toward Mahādeva is repeatedly emphasized.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; it teaches ethical discipline (maryādā) regarding when and why one should depart.