Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 62

Devanagari script

आरोहणं गवां पृष्ठे प्रेतधूमं सरित्तरम् । बालातपं दिवास्वापं द्यजेद्दीर्घं जिजीविषुः

Transliteration

ārohaṇaṃ gavāṃ pṛṣṭhe pretadhūmaṃ sarittaram | bālātapaṃ divāsvāpaṃ dyajeddīrghaṃ jijīviṣuḥ

Translation

ദീർഘായുസ്സ് ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നവൻ പശുവിന്റെ പുറത്ത് കയറൽ, പ്രേതകർമ്മധൂമം, അതിവേഗം നദി കടക്കൽ, കടുത്ത വെയിലിൽ ഇരിക്കൽ, പകൽ ഉറക്കം—ഇവയെല്ലാം ഒഴിവാക്കണം.

Word by Word

• ārohaṇam: mounting (riding)
• ārohaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ārohaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; √ruh आरोहणे धातु-निष्पन्न)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; action-noun (gerundive sense: ‘act of mounting’)

• gavām: of cows
• gavām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (गो-शब्दः), षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• pṛṣṭhe: on the back
• pṛṣṭhe: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• preta-dhūmam: smoke of a funeral pyre (ghost-related smoke)
• preta-dhūmam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: preta (प्रातिपदिक) + dhūma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (प्रेतस्य धूमः)

• sarit-taram: crossing a river
• sarit-taram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarit (प्रातिपदिक) + tara (प्रातिपदिक/प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (सरितः तरणम्/तरण-कार्यं)

• bāla-ātapam: early/mild sunlight
• bāla-ātapam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (प्रातिपदिक) + ātapa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (बालः ātapaḥ = mild/early sun-heat)

• divā-svāpaṃ: daytime sleep
• divā-svāpaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: divā (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + svāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (दिवायां स्वापः)

• tyajet: should abandon
• tyajet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √tyaj (त्यागे धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• dīrgham: for long (a long time)
• dīrgham: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial qualifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dīrgha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (दीर्घकालम्)

• jijīviṣuḥ: one who wishes to live
• jijīviṣuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jijīviṣu (प्रातिपदिक; desiderative from √jīv जीवने)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; इच्छार्थक-प्रातिपदिक (जीवितुम् इच्छन्)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kshetra (Gaṅgā-ghāṭa context)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and other Ṛṣis (typical frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Kāśī pilgrim at dawn near a ghāṭa: cows resting nearby, a distant śmaśāna smoke plume across the river, the pilgrim choosing a safe boat crossing, shading from the rising sun, refusing midday sleep to continue japa.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes safeguarding the body as a vehicle for sādhana; avoid actions that invite impurity or weaken vitality.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The guidance is general within Kāśīkhaṇḍa; it supports safe, disciplined movement through Kāśī’s sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal rite; it prescribes avoidances (varjya) connected to purity and health.