Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 68

Devanagari script

स एकदा संप्रधार्य गृहिण्या लोकदूषितः । जगाम कीकटान्देशांस्त्यक्त्वा वाराणसीं पुरीम्

Transliteration

sa ekadā saṃpradhārya gṛhiṇyā lokadūṣitaḥ | jagāma kīkaṭāndeśāṃstyaktvā vārāṇasīṃ purīm

Translation

Un jour, après avoir délibéré avec son épouse, cet homme—souillé par le blâme du monde—quitta la cité de Vārāṇasī et se mit en route vers les contrées de Kīkaṭa.

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• एकदा: once
• एकदा: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एकदा (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• संप्रधार्य: having considered
• संप्रधार्य: Kriya-viseshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-प्र-धृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकाल (having considered)

• गृहिण्या: by (his) wife / with the housewife
• गृहिण्या: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृहिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• लोकदूषितः: defamed by people / disgraced
• लोकदूषितः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लोक + दूषित (दूष् धातोः क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) विशेषण

• जगाम: went
• जगाम: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• कीकटान्: to the Kīkaṭa (region)
• कीकटान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कीकट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), बहुवचन; ‘देशान्’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• देशान्: countries/regions
• देशान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• त्यक्त्वा: having left
• त्यक्त्वा: Kriya-viseshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकाल (having abandoned)

• वाराणसीम्: Vārāṇasī
• वाराणसीम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाराणसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पुरीम्: the city
• पुरीम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘वाराणसीम्’ इत्यस्य अप्पोजिशन (apposition)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī/Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (typical Naimiṣāraṇya frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A householder, after conferring with his wife, turns away from the ghāṭas and temples of Kāśī and begins a journey toward the distant Kīkaṭa region; the city’s sacred skyline fades behind him.

Characters & Entities

• Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
• Kīkaṭa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Publicly censured, the man abandons Kāśī—hinting that separation from a sacred place often follows moral decline and brings further suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī (Kāśī) is implicitly glorified as the sacred city whose abandonment signals loss of spiritual protection.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse is narrative, setting up a karmic consequence story connected to leaving Kāśī.