Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

न व्याधश्चान्त्यजातो वा क्षत्रियोऽहं महामुने । काशीराजो मृगान् हन्तुमागतो वनमुत्तमम्

Transliteration

na vyādhaścāntyajāto vā kṣatriyo'haṃ mahāmune | kāśīrājo mṛgān hantumāgato vanamuttamam

Translation

മഹാമുനേ! ഞാൻ വ്യാധനല്ല, അന്ത്യജാതനും അല്ല; ഞാൻ ക്ഷത്രിയൻ—കാശിയുടെ രാജാവ്—മൃഗങ്ങളെ വധിക്കാനായി ഈ ഉത്തമ വനത്തിലേക്ക് വന്നതാണ്।

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• vyādhaḥ: hunter
• vyādhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyādha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case/Nominative), एकवचन

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

• antyajātaḥ: one born in a low caste
• antyajātaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antya + jāta (प्रातिपदिक; जात = √jan (धातु) क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (antyasya jātaḥ)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Alternative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle)

• kṣatriyaḥ: Kshatriya
• kṣatriyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣatriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन

• mahāmune: O great sage
• mahāmune: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महान् मुनिः)

• kāśīrājaḥ: king of Kashi
• kāśīrājaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī + rāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (kāśyāḥ rājā)

• mṛgān: deer/animals
• mṛgān: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case/Accusative), बहुवचन

• hantum: to kill
• hantum: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √han (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), परस्मैपदी; अर्थः—कर्तुम् (to do)

• āgataḥ: has come
• āgataḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + √gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकालिक-विशेषण (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vanam: to the forest
• vanam: Karman (Goal/Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन

• uttamam: excellent, best
• uttamam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying vanam)

Speaker

Citrasena

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha setting (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (frame implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A regal king of Kāśī, armed for the hunt, stands in an ‘excellent forest’ before a great sage, asserting he is no hunter by caste but a Kṣatriya king come to slay deer.

Characters & Entities

• Citrasena
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even royal identity and customary pursuits do not exempt one from dharmic scrutiny when harm is done.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is named as the king’s realm; the chapter’s larger setting remains the Revā/Narmadā landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it provides narrative background (the hunt) that precipitates later expiation.