Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

सुतावाक्यं न कुर्वंति पत्नी प्रेमापि मुंचति । बांधवा नैव मन्यंते जरसाश्लेषितं नरम्

Transliteration

sutāvākyaṃ na kurvaṃti patnī premāpi muṃcati | bāṃdhavā naiva manyaṃte jarasāśleṣitaṃ naram

Translation

ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಅವನ ಮಾತನ್ನು ಪಾಲಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ, ಪತ್ನಿಯೂ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯನ್ನು ಬಿಡುತ್ತಾಳೆ; ಬಂಧುಗಳೂ ಜರೆಯ ಅಪ್ಪುಗೆಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಆ ನರನನ್ನು ಗೌರವಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ।

Word by Word

• sutāvākyam: the child’s words
• sutāvākyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sutā (प्रातिपदिक) + vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (sutāyāḥ vākyam = ‘daughter’s/son’s words’)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात

• kurvanti: do/heed (they do)
• kurvanti: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु: कृ)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• patnī: wife
• patnī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: patnī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• premā: love/affection
• premā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prema (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (पाठे ‘premā’ = ‘prema’ + विसर्गलोप/दीर्घ)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Emphasis/Addition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि-निपात (even/also)

• muñcati: abandons/lets go
• muñcati: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √muc (धातु: मुच्)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• bāndhavāḥ: relatives
• bāndhavāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāndhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात

• eva: at all/indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण-निपात (at all/indeed)

• manyante: consider/acknowledge
• manyante: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √man (धातु: मन्)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

• jarasā: by old age
• jarasā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; (jaras = ‘old age’ as neuter stem)

• āśleṣitam: embraced/clung to
• āśleṣitam: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā√śliṣ (धातु: श्लिष्) + āśleṣita (कृत)
• Form: क्त (PPP); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifies ‘naram’)

• naram: a man
• naram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya (contextually)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An aged man sits unheard as children turn away; wife’s affection fades; relatives avert their gaze. In the distance, Kāśī’s ghāṭs glow—suggesting the compassionate alternative refuge of Śiva and Gaṅgā.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Family and social support can fail with time; therefore one should build life upon dharma and the liberating refuge of the sacred.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the chapter’s sacred locus, though not named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the verse emphasizes dispassion and spiritual preparation.