Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

पितृदेवक्रतुकृते मधुपर्कार्थमेव च । तत्र हिंसाप्यहिंसा स्याद्धिंसान्यत्र सुदुस्तरा

Transliteration

pitṛdevakratukṛte madhuparkārthameva ca | tatra hiṃsāpyahiṃsā syāddhiṃsānyatra sudustarā

Translation

祖霊と神々のための儀礼、そして祭祀のため、またマドゥパルカの供物のためにおいては、そこでは害もまた不害と見なされる。だが他の場での暴力は、きわめて正当化しがたく、越えがたい。

Word by Word

• pitṛ-deva-kratu-kṛte: in rites for ancestors and gods
• pitṛ-deva-kratu-kṛte: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक) + kratu (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अर्थे/विषये (in the case of): पितॄणां देवानां च क्रतौ कृते (when a rite for Pitṛs and Devas is performed)

• madhuparka-artham: for the madhuparka offering
• madhuparka-artham: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhuparka (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; मधुपर्कस्य अर्थः (for the purpose of madhuparka offering)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• tatra: there/in that case
• tatra: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देश/प्रसङ्गवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: there/in that case)

• hiṃsā: violence
• hiṃsā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hiṃsā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि-कारक-अव्यय (even/also)

• ahiṃsā: non-violence
• ahiṃsā: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-hiṃsā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; नञ्-तत्पुरुष (non-violence)

• syāt: would be/is considered
• syāt: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• hiṃsā: violence
• hiṃsā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hiṃsā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• anyatra: elsewhere/otherwise
• anyatra: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anyatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अपादान/देशवाचक-अव्यय (elsewhere/otherwise)

• sudustarā: very hard to overcome
• sudustarā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su-dustara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘सु’ उपसर्गेन तीव्रता; दुस्तरा = दुरतिक्रमा (very hard to cross/overcome)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a Gaṅgā ghat, a householder performs śrāddha with piṇḍa and tarpaṇa; nearby, an honored guest is offered madhuparka in a ritualized setting; a contrasting shadow-scene shows senseless slaughter fading into darkness labeled ‘anyatra’.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Devas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is contextual: acts may be judged differently when performed within sanctioned rites versus done for personal desire.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the overarching sacred geography of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa; this verse itself is primarily normative (ritual ethics).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It mentions pitṛ-kṛtya (ancestral rites), deva rites, kratu (sacrifice), and madhuparka offering as sanctioned contexts.