Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

आश्लिष्टं जरया दृष्ट्वा परयोषिद्विशंकिता । भवेत्पराङ्मुखी नित्यं प्रणयिन्यपि कामिनी

Transliteration

āśliṣṭaṃ jarayā dṛṣṭvā parayoṣidviśaṃkitā | bhavetparāṅmukhī nityaṃ praṇayinyapi kāminī

Translation

老いに抱かれた男を見れば、たとえ愛し情熱に燃える女であっても—恐れ疑い—つねに顔を背け、遠ざかる。

Word by Word

• आश्लिष्टम्: (one) embraced
• आश्लिष्टम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-śliṣ (धातु) → āśliṣṭa (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; past passive participle ‘embraced/closely clung’

• जरया: by old age
• जरया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jarā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; instrumental ‘by/with old age’

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial to action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु) → dṛṣṭvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: अव्ययभावे कृदन्त (क्त्वान्त), absolutive/gerund ‘having seen’

• परयोषित्-विशंकिता: suspicious of another woman
• परयोषित्-विशंकिता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक) + yoṣit (प्रातिपदिक) + vi-śaṅk (धातु) → viśaṅkitā (कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध: ‘of another woman’), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त) ‘made suspicious’

• भवेत्: would become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘would become’

• पराङ्मुखी: turned away
• पराङ्मुखी: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृसम्बन्धी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parāṅmukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; adjective ‘turned away’

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriya-viseshana (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) ‘always’

• प्रणयिनी: a beloved (woman)
• प्रणयिनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: praṇayinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘beloved woman/lover’

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) ‘even/also’

• कामिनी: a passionate woman
• कामिनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāminī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘desirous woman/lover’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A once-attractive man now visibly aged; a beloved woman, though affectionate, turns away with mixed fear and discomfort—symbolizing the collapse of sensual certainty under jarā.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sensual and relational attachments are unstable and time-bound; therefore one should seek the enduring goal of liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the overarching sacred setting of the discourse in this Adhyāya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a contemplative observation supporting dispassion.