Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

येऽबांधवा बांधवा वा येऽन्यजन्मनि बांधवाः । येपि चाज्ञातनामानो ये चापुत्राः स्वगोत्रजाः

Transliteration

ye'bāṃdhavā bāṃdhavā vā ye'nyajanmani bāṃdhavāḥ | yepi cājñātanāmāno ye cāputrāḥ svagotrajāḥ

Translation

അവർ ബന്ധുക്കളല്ലാത്തവരായാലും ബന്ധുക്കളായാലും, അല്ലെങ്കിൽ മറ്റൊരു ജന്മത്തിൽ ബന്ധുക്കളായിരുന്നാലും; പേരറിയാത്തവർ, കൂടാതെ സ്വഗോത്രത്തിൽ പുത്രഹീനരായി അന്തരിച്ചവർ—അവരും (ഇതിൽ) ഉൾപ്പെടുന്നു।

Word by Word

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

• अबान्धवाः: those without relatives
• अबान्धवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अ-बान्धव (प्रातिपदिक; नञ् + बान्धव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; नञ्-प्रयोग

• बान्धवाः: relatives
• बान्धवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बान्धव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Alternative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक अव्यय (or)

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

• अन्यजन्मनि: in another birth
• अन्यजन्मनि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य-जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक; अन्य + जन्मन्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• बान्धवाः: (are) relatives
• बान्धवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बान्धव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

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

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (also)

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

• अज्ञातनामानः: those of unknown names
• अज्ञातनामानः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अज्ञात-नामन् (प्रातिपदिक; अज्ञात + नामन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘अज्ञात’ विशेषणपूर्वपद

• 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

• अपुत्राः: childless (men)
• अपुत्राः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अ-पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक; नञ् + पुत्र)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

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

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Frame audience (ṛṣis/pilgrims)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A compassionate rite on Kāśī’s ghats: a devotee offers water and piṇḍa with a broad saṅkalpa, while faint ancestral silhouettes—known and unknown, sonless and forgotten—gather to receive.

Characters & Entities

• Gotra
• Pitṛs (contextual)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ancestral duty is inclusive and humane: one should extend offerings beyond known names and immediate family, embracing forgotten and unsupported souls.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse belongs to the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Gaṅgā-centered pitṛkarman discussion, highlighting the spiritual reach of rites done at this tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

During tarpaṇa/śrāddha, explicitly include unknown-named departed, sonless members of one’s gotra, and even non-relatives or past-life relations.