Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

रसविक्रयिणो ये च ये चान्ये पापरोगिणः । अग्निदा गरदाश्चैव गोघ्नाश्चैव स्ववंशजाः

Transliteration

rasavikrayiṇo ye ca ye cānye pāparogiṇaḥ | agnidā garadāścaiva goghnāścaiva svavaṃśajāḥ

Translation

മദ്യാദി മത്തുരസങ്ങൾ വിൽക്കുന്നവർ, മറ്റു പാപരോഗബാധിതർ; അഗ്നിദാതാക്കൾ, വിഷപ്രയോഗികൾ, ഗോഹത്യകർ—സ്വവംശത്തിൽ ജനിച്ചവരായാലും—അവരും (ഇതിൽ) ഉൾപ്പെടുന്നു।

Word by Word

• रसविक्रयिणः: sellers of rasa (liquor/juice)
• रसविक्रयिणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रस-विक्रयिन् (प्रातिपदिक; रस + विक्रयिन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; ‘विक्रयिन्’ (कर्तरि-णिनि प्रत्ययान्त)

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• पापरोगिणः: those afflicted with sinful diseases
• पापरोगिणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप-रोगिन् (प्रातिपदिक; पाप + रोगिन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘रोगिन्’ (मतुप्/इन्-प्रत्ययान्त)

• अग्निदाः: arsonists (givers of fire)
• अग्निदाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि-द (प्रातिपदिक; अग्नि + द)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘द’ (कर्तरि) = दाता/प्रदाता

• गरदाः: poison-givers
• गरदाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर-द (प्रातिपदिक; गर + द)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; गर = विष (poison)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• एव: indeed/also
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• गोघ्नाः: cow-killers
• गोघ्नाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो-घ्न (प्रातिपदिक; गो + घ्न)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; घ्न = हन्ता (killer)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• एव: indeed/also
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय

• स्ववंशजाः: born in one’s own lineage
• स्ववंशजाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व-वंश-ज (प्रातिपदिक; स्व + वंश + ज)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ज = जात (born)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A somber Kāśī setting where the narrator enumerates grave sinners—liquor traders, arsonists, poisoners, cow-slayers—yet the sacred city’s compassionate aura suggests their inclusion in a rite of uplift.

Characters & Entities

• Go (cow)
• Pitṛs (contextual)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The duty of śrāddha/tarpaṇa is not cancelled by another’s sins; remembrance and offering are channels of purification and mercy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī’s Gaṅgā-tīrtha setting frames these verses as a powerful place for ancestral upliftment.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Include in offerings even relatives guilty of grave sins (arson, poisoning, cow-slaughter) and those marked by sinful afflictions.