Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

दम दान दया क्षांति शौचेंद्रिय विनिग्रहाः । अस्तेय सत्याहिंसाश्च सर्वेषां धर्महेतवः

Transliteration

dama dāna dayā kṣāṃti śauceṃdriya vinigrahāḥ | asteya satyāhiṃsāśca sarveṣāṃ dharmahetavaḥ

Translation

ദമം, ദാനം, ദയ, ക്ഷമ, ശൗചം, ഇന്ദ്രിയനിഗ്രഹം; കൂടാതെ അസ്തേയം, സത്യം, അഹിംസ—ഇവയൊക്കെയും എല്ലാവർക്കും ധർമ്മം നിലനിറുത്തുന്ന കാരണങ്ങളാണ്।

Word by Word

• दमः: self-control
• दमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• दानम्: charity, giving
• दानम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• दया: compassion
• दया: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• क्षान्तिः: forbearance, patience
• क्षान्तिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षान्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (पाठे ‘क्षांति’)

• शौच-इन्द्रिय-विनिग्रहाः: purity and restraint of the senses
• शौच-इन्द्रिय-विनिग्रहाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शौच (प्रातिपदिक) + इन्द्रिय (प्रातिपदिक) + विनिग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (शौचं च इन्द्रियविनिग्रहः च), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• अस्तेयम्: non-stealing
• अस्तेयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्तेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• सत्य-अहिंसाः: truthfulness and non-violence
• सत्य-अहिंसाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्य (प्रातिपदिक) + अहिंसा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (सत्यं च अहिंसा च), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (पाठे ‘सत्याहिंसाश्’)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

• सर्वेषाम्: of all (people)
• सर्वेषाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; genitive

• धर्म-हेतवः: causes of dharma (righteousness)
• धर्म-हेतवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + हेतु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (धर्मस्य हेतवः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrims/ṛṣis within the Purāṇic frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: a sage or teacher in Kāśī instructs a mixed group of householders and pilgrims; around them symbolic vignettes show charity, forgiveness, cleanliness, truth-speaking, and non-violence; the Gaṅgā and a Śiva shrine appear in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is sustained by inner discipline and outward virtue—restraint, generosity, compassion, purity, truth, and non-violence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly Kāśī: the verse frames the moral qualities expected of those who live in or seek merit in the sacred city.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No single rite; it prescribes ethical sādhana—sense-control, charity, and non-harming—as daily practice.