Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

श्रमातुरेभ्यः पांथेभ्यः स विश्रामं प्रयच्छति । हरेत्क्षुधा क्षुधार्तानामुपानद्दोऽनुपानहे

Transliteration

śramāturebhyaḥ pāṃthebhyaḥ sa viśrāmaṃ prayacchati | haretkṣudhā kṣudhārtānāmupānaddo'nupānahe

Translation

ಅವನು ಶ್ರಮದಿಂದ ಕಂಗೆಟ್ಟ ಪಥಿಕರಿಗೆ ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತಿ ನೀಡುತ್ತಾನೆ; ಕ್ಷುಧಾರ್ತರ ಕ್ಷುಧೆಯನ್ನು ನಿವಾರಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ; ಪಾದರಕ್ಷೆಯಿಲ್ಲದವರಿಗೆ ಉಪಾನಹ್ (ಚಪ್ಪಲಿ) ಕೊಡುತ್ತಾನೆ.

Word by Word

• śrama-āturebhyaḥ: to those distressed by fatigue
• śrama-āturebhyaḥ: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान) (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śrama (प्रातिपदिक) + ātura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम् (pāṃthebhyaḥ)

• pāṃthebhyaḥ: to travelers
• pāṃthebhyaḥ: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāṃtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), बहुवचनम्

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

• viśrāmam: rest
• viśrāmam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśrāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचनम्

• prayacchati: gives/grants
• prayacchati: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + √yam (धातु)
• Form: लकारः लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्; पुरुषः 3, वचनम् एकवचनम्

• haret: should remove
• haret: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √hṛ (धातु)
• Form: लकारः विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्; पुरुषः 3, वचनम् एकवचनम्

• kṣudhām: hunger
• kṣudhām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣudh (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचनम्

• kṣudhā-ārtānām: of those afflicted by hunger
• kṣudhā-ārtānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣudhā (प्रातिपदिक) + ārta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचनम्; ‘क्षुधार्त’ = क्षुधया पीडित

• upānad-daḥ: a giver of sandals
• upānad-daḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (appositional)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upānah (प्रातिपदिक) + da (कृदन्त; √dā, द-प्रत्यय/agent noun)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचनम्; कर्तृवाचकः (one who gives sandals)

• anupānahe: when (someone is) without footwear
• anupānahe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anupānah (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचनम्; अधिकरणम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (yātrika-sevā)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A compassionate householder/guardian welcomes exhausted pilgrims, offering a shaded resting place, food to the hungry, and sandals to barefoot travelers; the road to Kāśī continues behind them.

Characters & Entities

• pāthika (traveler)
• dāna (charity, implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Serving pilgrims—through rest, food, and practical aid—is a high form of dharma and earns merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ethos of Kāśī pilgrimage is highlighted: the sacred journey is supported by compassion and hospitality.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna is implied: providing rest, relieving hunger (anna-dāna), and gifting footwear (upānah-dāna).