Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

शनैः शनैः स चिनुयाद्धर्मं वल्मीक शृंगवत् । परपीडामकुर्वाणः परलोकसहायिनम्

Transliteration

śanaiḥ śanaiḥ sa cinuyāddharmaṃ valmīka śṛṃgavat | parapīḍāmakurvāṇaḥ paralokasahāyinam

Translation

少しずつダルマを積み重ねよ、蟻塚が一粒一粒で高くなるように。人を苦しめず、彼岸において助けとなるダルマを築くべし。

Word by Word

• śanaiḥ: slowly
• śanaiḥ: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śanaiḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), manner; ‘slowly’

• śanaiḥ: gradually
• śanaiḥ: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śanaiḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), repetition for emphasis

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; pronoun

• cinuyāt: should accumulate
• cinuyāt: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ci (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; parasmaipada; ‘should accumulate/collect’

• dharmam: dharma, merit
• dharmam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• valmīka: anthill
• valmīka: Upamāna (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: valmīka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; used in comparison context

• śṛṅgavat: like a horn/peak
• śṛṅgavat: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śṛṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (मतुप्/वत्)
• Form: अव्ययवत् तद्धितान्त (vat), ‘like/possessing’; here indeclinable-like in simile: ‘like a horn/peak’

• para-pīḍām: harm to others
• para-pīḍām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक) + pīḍā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘others’ + ‘harm’

• akurvāṇaḥ: not doing
• akurvāṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + śatṛ (शतृ) with negation a-
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्तरि कृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; ‘not doing’

• paraloka-sahāyinam: a helper in the next world
• paraloka-sahāyinam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paraloka (प्रातिपदिक) + sahāyin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘of the next world’ + ‘helper’; qualifying dharmam

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrims/seekers in Kāśī context

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A quiet scene near a Kāśī garden/ghat: an anthill rising beside a path; a pilgrim places grains/flowers gently, feeds ants, and offers water to a passerby—symbolizing incremental dharma without harm.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Dharma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Merit is built steadily through consistent righteous acts, rooted in non-harm, and it alone supports one after death.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the implied sacred setting, framing dharma as the pilgrim’s real wealth in a liberating kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No single ritual is mandated; the instruction is ongoing practice of dharma and ahiṃsā (non-injury).