Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

रक्षणीयं महायत्नादिदं सुकृतभाजनम् । वपुः परस्य दुःस्पर्शात्सुखाभासात्मकात्स्त्रिया

Transliteration

rakṣaṇīyaṃ mahāyatnādidaṃ sukṛtabhājanam | vapuḥ parasya duḥsparśātsukhābhāsātmakātstriyā

Translation

ഈ ദേഹം പുണ്യകർമ്മങ്ങളുടെ പാത്രമാണ്; മഹായത്നത്തോടെ ഇതിനെ കാത്തുസൂക്ഷിക്കണം—സുഖത്തിന്റെ വെറും ഭാസമായ പരസ്ത്രീയുടെ ദുഃസ്പർശത്തിൽ നിന്ന് അകലെ നിർത്തി.

Word by Word

• रक्षणीयम्: to be protected
• रक्षणीयम्: Kriya (Obligation/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: रक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: कृत्य-प्रत्यय (अनीयर्) — कर्तव्य/रक्षणार्ह (gerundive), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular) — विधेय-विशेषणम्

• महायत्नात्: with great effort
• महायत्नात्: Hetu/Upaya (Means/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + यत्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन (Masculine, Ablative, Singular) — उपाय/प्रकारार्थे (with great effort)

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karma/Pratipādya (Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular)

• सुकृत-भाजनम्: a vessel/receptacle of merit
• सुकृत-भाजनम्: Karta/Pratipādya (Predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुकृत (प्रातिपदिक) + भाजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular) — विधेय-नाम/विशेष्य (appositive to इदम्)

• वपुः: body
• वपुः: Karma/Pratipādya (Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वपुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular) — इदम्/सुकृतभाजनम् इत्यस्य विशेष्य (the body)

• परस्य: of another (man)
• परस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (Genitive, Singular); विशेषणम् (qualifier)

• दुःस्पर्शात्: from bad touch; from being touched (by another)
• दुःस्पर्शात्: Apadana/Hetu (Source/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुः (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + स्पर्श (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन (Masculine, Ablative, Singular) — अपादान/हेतु (from/because of)

• सुख-आभास-आत्मकात्: from that which is of the nature of a mere semblance of pleasure
• सुख-आभास-आत्मकात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुख (प्रातिपदिक) + आभास (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन (Ablative, Singular); विशेषणम् (qualifier of दुःस्पर्शात्/परस्य स्पर्शात् as ‘seeming-pleasant’)

• स्त्रिया: by a woman
• स्त्रिया: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (Feminine, Instrumental, Singular) — कर्तृकरण-भावे (agent in gerundive sense: ‘by a woman’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A calm instructive tableau: a pilgrim in Kāśī holding a water-pot and japa-mālā, surrounded by subtle temptations depicted as mirage-like forms; the body shown as a luminous vessel/kalasha labeled ‘sukṛta’.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Guard the body and mind as instruments of merit; illicit contact offers only illusory pleasure and harms spiritual progress.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is situated in the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s dharma teaching atmosphere; no single tirtha is named.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; it prescribes ethical restraint (avoidance of paradāra-saṅga) as a protective discipline.