Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

विचार्येति स दुष्टात्मा भृत्यानाज्ञापयत्क्रुधा । आदावेनं घातयंतु ततः कार्पटिकानिमान्

Transliteration

vicāryeti sa duṣṭātmā bhṛtyānājñāpayatkrudhā | ādāvenaṃ ghātayaṃtu tataḥ kārpaṭikānimān

Translation

ഇപ്രകാരം തീരുമാനിച്ച ശേഷം, ആ ദുഷ്ടാത്മാവ് കോപത്തോടെ തന്റെ ഭൃത്യന്മാരോട് ആജ്ഞാപിച്ചു: ‘ആദ്യം ഇവനെ കൊല്ലുക; പിന്നീട് ഈ ഭിക്ഷുക്കളെയും.’

Word by Word

• विचार्य: having deliberated
• विचार्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + चर् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having considered’

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उद्धरण-समाप्ति सूचक), quotative particle

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; personal/demonstrative pronoun

• दुष्टात्मा: the evil-minded one
• दुष्टात्मा: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुष्ट (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः: ‘wicked-souled’

• भृत्यान्: servants
• भृत्यान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भृत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन

• आज्ञापयत्: ordered
• आज्ञापयत्: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + ज्ञा (धातु) (णिच् causative: आज्ञापय्)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; causative ‘ordered’

• क्रुधा: in anger
• क्रुधा: Kriya-viseshana (Manner/भाव-क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्रुध् (धातु)
• Form: अव्यय (भाववाचक तृतीया-रूपेण), instrumental-absolute sense ‘in anger’

• आदौ: first
• आदौ: Kriya-viseshana (Order/क्रम-क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रमवाचक), adverb ‘at first’

• एनम्: him
• एनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; enclitic pronoun ‘him’

• घातयन्तु: let them kill
• घातयन्तु: Kriya (Command/आज्ञा-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: घातय् (णिच् causative of हन्) (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; ‘let them kill/cause to be killed’

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriya-viseshana (Order/क्रम-क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रम/अनन्तर), adverb ‘then/thereafter’

• कार्पटिकान्: the rogues/cheats (kārpaṭikas)
• कार्पटिकान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्पटिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन

• इमान्: these
• इमान्: Karma (Qualifier of object/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन; demonstrative used adjectivally

Speaker

Skanda (narrating); quoted speech by Tārākṣa (deduced)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (frame typical)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A commanding figure on a threshold, arm outstretched; servants with sticks/swords surge forward; a lone defender stands firm; nearby, mendicants with patched garments recoil or pray.

Characters & Entities

• Tārākṣa
• kārpaṭika (mendicants)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Anger and greed together generate escalating violence, even against harmless wanderers—an archetypal pattern of adharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the overarching sacred geography of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa; this verse is a narrative turning point within that setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse condemns behavior implicitly by depicting wrongful commands.