Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 82

Devanagari script

हाशिशो हागुणनिधे हा पितुर्वाक्यकारक । हा कुतो मंदभाग्याया जठरे मे समागतः

Transliteration

hāśiśo hāguṇanidhe hā piturvākyakāraka | hā kuto maṃdabhāgyāyā jaṭhare me samāgataḥ

Translation

“ഹാ എന്റെ ശിശുവേ! ഹാ ഗുണനിധേ! ഹാ പിതാവിന്റെ വാക്ക് നിറവേറ്റിയവനേ! ഹാ, ഞാൻ മന്ദഭാഗ്യവതി—നീ എങ്ങനെ എന്റെ ഗർഭത്തിൽ എത്തി?” എന്നു അവൾ വിലപിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• हा: alas!
• हा: Sambodhana/Exclamation (उद्गार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हा (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्गार-निपात (interjection)

• शिशो: O child!
• शिशो: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिशु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• हा: alas!
• हा: Sambodhana/Exclamation (उद्गार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हा (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्गार-निपात

• गुणनिधे: O treasure of virtues!
• गुणनिधे: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुण-निधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• हा: alas!
• हा: Sambodhana/Exclamation (उद्गार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हा (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्गार-निपात

• पितुः: of (your) father
• पितुः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• वाक्यकारक: O fulfiller of (your) father’s word!
• वाक्यकारक: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाक्य-कारक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (agent noun) ‘doer/fulfiller of the word’

• हा: alas!
• हा: Sambodhana/Exclamation (उद्गार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हा (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्गार-निपात

• कुतः: from where/how
• कुतः: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कुतः (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: ‘whence/how’)

• मन्दभाग्यायाः: of (me) the unfortunate
• मन्दभाग्यायाः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मन्द-भाग्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (of the unfortunate one)

• जठरे: in the womb/belly
• जठरे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जठर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मे: my
• मे: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• समागतः: has come/arrived
• समागतः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + गम् (धातु) + क्त (भूतकृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle) पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘having come/arrived’

Speaker

Śuciṣmatī (deduced from preceding verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (traditional frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śuciṣmatī addresses her child directly—calling him a ‘treasure of virtues’ and ‘doer of the father’s word’—her hands lifted in pleading, eyes swollen with tears, voice breaking.

Characters & Entities

• Śuciṣmatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Parental love and sorrow reveal the fragility of worldly bonds; dharma is praised even amid grief.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The larger Kāśīkhaṇḍa framework is Kāśī, but this verse is a personal lament, not tīrtha-stuti.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.