Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

दिवाभिगमनं पुंसामनायुष्यं परं मतम् । श्राद्धाहः सर्वपर्वाणि यत्नात्त्याज्यानि धीमता

Transliteration

divābhigamanaṃ puṃsāmanāyuṣyaṃ paraṃ matam | śrāddhāhaḥ sarvaparvāṇi yatnāttyājyāni dhīmatā

Translation

昼の交わりは、男子にとって寿命を大いに損なうと説かれる。賢者は、シュラーダ（śrāddha）の日およびあらゆる聖なる斎日（parvan）には、努めてこれを避けるべきである。

Word by Word

• दिवा: by day
• दिवा: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दिवा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: by day)

• अभिगमनम्: going/approaching
• अभिगमनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अभि√गम् (धातु) + गमन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; भाववाचक-संज्ञा (act of going/approaching)

• पुंसाम्: of men
• पुंसाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुंस्/पुम्स् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), बहुवचन

• अनायुष्यम्: not conducive to long life
• अनायुष्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्- (उपसर्ग/निषेध) + आयुष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying)

• परम्: supreme/decisive
• परम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• मतम्: is considered/opinion
• मतम्: Pradhana (Predicate nominal/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: √मन् (धातु) → मत (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; भाव/मतवाचक (opinion)

• श्राद्धाहः: the day of śrāddha
• श्राद्धाहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + अहन्/अहः (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (श्राद्धस्य अहः)

• सर्वपर्वाणि: all festival/holy days
• सर्वपर्वाणि: Samuccaya (Co-listed items/समुच्चय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + पर्वन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (सर्वाणि पर्वाणि)

• यत्नात्: with effort/carefully
• यत्नात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यत्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/ablative), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (as cause/means: with effort)

• त्याज्यानि: to be avoided
• त्याज्यानि: Pradhana (Predicate adjective/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √त्यज् (धातु) → त्याज्य (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; विधिलिङ्गार्थक-कर्तव्यता (gerundive: to be avoided)

• धीमता: by the wise person
• धीमता: Kartr̥ (Agent-instrumental/कर्ता-निर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धीमत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/instrumental), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (Gaṅgā-ghāṭas in Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Kāśī householder turns away from sensuality on a śrāddha/parvan day, offering piṇḍa and water at a Gaṅgā ghāṭa while bells and lamps glow in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Agastya
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Śrāddha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes restraint and calendrical discipline; honoring sacred days and ancestral rites is presented as protective of life and spiritual order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is part of Kāśī’s dharma instruction rather than a direct glorification of a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Avoid daytime union, and avoid such acts on śrāddha days and on all parvan (holy observance) days.