Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 86

Devanagari script

तच्च स्वाम्यं ममान्यत्र त्वदृते जीवितेश्वरि । राज्यं त्यजेयं त्वद्वाक्यात्तृणीकृत्यापि मानिनि

Transliteration

tacca svāmyaṃ mamānyatra tvadṛte jīviteśvari | rājyaṃ tyajeyaṃ tvadvākyāttṛṇīkṛtyāpi mānini

Translation

ಹೇ ನನ್ನ ಜೀವಿತೇಶ್ವರಿ! ನಿನ್ನನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ನನಗೆ ಎಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಸ್ವಾಮ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲ. ಹೇ ಮಾನಿನಿ! ನಿನ್ನ ವಾಕ್ಯದಿಂದ ರಾಜ್ಯವನ್ನೂ ತೃಣಸಮಾನವೆಂದು ತಿಳಿದು ತ್ಯಜಿಸುವೆನು.

Word by Word

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshya (correlative/अन्वय)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• svāmyam: sovereignty, lordship
• svāmyam: Karma (object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svāmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (genitive/possessor)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• anyatra: elsewhere, otherwise
• anyatra: Adhikarana (location/context)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anyatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देश/विषयवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: elsewhere)

• tvadṛte: without you
• tvadṛte: Apadana (exclusion)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tvad + ṛte (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक + अव्यय)
• Form: अपादानार्थक-अव्यययोग (ṛte = without); अर्थतः ‘त्वां विना’

• jīviteśvari: O mistress of my life
• jīviteśvari: Sambodhana (address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jīvita + īśvarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (jīvitasya īśvarī)

• rājyam: kingdom
• rājyam: Karma (object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• tyajeyam: I would abandon
• tyajeyam: Kriya (action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tyaj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tvadvākyāt: because of your word; at your command
• tvadvākyāt: Hetu/Apadana (cause/source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad + vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (tava vākyāt)

• tṛṇīkṛtya: having made (it) as straw; treating as worthless
• tṛṇīkṛtya: Kriya-viseshana (manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tṛṇī√kṛ (कृदन्त; धातु: kṛ)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund); ‘तृणं कृत्वा’ = making (it) like grass

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावना/अपि-समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (particle: even/also)

• mānini: O proud one
• mānini: Sambodhana (address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māninī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8), एकवचन

Speaker

Mālpaketu (king/husband)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king, hands folded, speaks to his beloved/queen with earnest eyes, offering symbolic regalia (crown/scepter) as insignificant straw; palace backdrop softened by an aura suggesting Kāśī’s spiritual gravity.

Characters & Entities

• Mālpaketu
• Kalāvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True attachment should be to dharma and the beloved’s righteous word; worldly power like kingship is secondary and renounceable.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative stream leading toward Kāśī/Viśvanātha; the explicit site appears in the later verses of this passage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; it expresses readiness for renunciation and obedience to a dharmic request.