Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

कंदमूलफलाहाराः परतत्त्वार्पितेक्षणाः । सत्यवंतो जितक्रोधा निर्मोहा निष्परिग्रहाः

Transliteration

kaṃdamūlaphalāhārāḥ paratattvārpitekṣaṇāḥ | satyavaṃto jitakrodhā nirmohā niṣparigrahāḥ

Translation

Ils se nourrissent de bulbes, de racines et de fruits, le regard offert à la Réalité suprême ; ils sont véridiques, ont vaincu la colère, sont sans illusion et sans esprit d’accumulation.

Word by Word

• kanda: bulbs/tubers
• kanda: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kanda (कन्द-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक; समासे पूर्वपद

• mūla: roots
• mūla: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūla (मूल-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक; समासे मध्यपद

• phala: fruits
• phala: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (फल-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक; समासे मध्यपद

• āhārāḥ: food/diet
• āhārāḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āhāra (आहार-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• kanda-mūla-phala-āhārāḥ: living on bulbs, roots, and fruits
• kanda-mūla-phala-āhārāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kanda + mūla + phala + āhāra
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘कन्दमूलफलम् आहारः येषाम्’ (diet consisting of bulbs, roots, fruits)

• para: supreme
• para: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (पर-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रातिपदिक; समासे पूर्वपद

• tattva: principle/reality
• tattva: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tattva (तत्त्व-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक; समासे मध्यपद

• arpita: dedicated
• arpita: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √arp (अर्प् धातु) + क्त (क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (PPP), प्रातिपदिक; समासे मध्यपद; ‘offered/dedicated’

• īkṣaṇāḥ: gazes/visions
• īkṣaṇāḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īkṣaṇa (ईक्षण-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘gaze/vision’

• para-tattva-arpita-īkṣaṇāḥ: whose gaze is dedicated to the supreme reality
• para-tattva-arpita-īkṣaṇāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para + tattva + arpita + īkṣaṇa
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—‘परतत्त्वे अर्पितम् ईक्षणं येषाम्’ (whose gaze is fixed on the supreme reality)

• satyavantaḥ: truthful
• satyavantaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: satyavant (सत्यवत्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘truthful’

• jita-krodhāḥ: having conquered anger
• jita-krodhāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jita (√ji+क्त) + krodha (क्रोध-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘जितः क्रोधः येषाम्’ (having conquered anger)

• nirmohāḥ: free from delusion
• nirmohāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nirmoha (निर्मोह-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘free from delusion’

• niṣ-parigrahāḥ: without possessions/non-possessive
• niṣ-parigrahāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nis (निस्-उपसर्ग) + parigraha (परिग्रह-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; उपसर्गपूर्वक-तत्पुरुषः—‘परिग्रहः नास्ति येषाम्’ (without possessions)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ascetics with minimal belongings gather forest produce—roots and fruits—then sit in meditation, eyes gently lifted or inward, symbolically ‘offered’ to the Supreme; their demeanor is truthful and calm, free of anger.

Characters & Entities

• Pāśupata devotees
• Supreme Reality (para-tattva)
• Kāśī (implied context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Simplicity in food and possessions supports truthfulness and inner clarity, turning attention toward the Supreme Principle.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is implied as a landscape that nurtures renunciation and para-tattva contemplation through Śiva-centered living.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A restrained sāttvic diet and the ethical vows of satya (truth), krodha-jaya (anger-control), and aparigraha (non-possessiveness).