Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 75

Devanagari script

समागतायां तन्मूर्तौ सर्वानष्टाग्रयः प्रजाः । हव्यकव्यक्रियाशून्या विरजिष्यंति राजनि

Transliteration

samāgatāyāṃ tanmūrtau sarvānaṣṭāgrayaḥ prajāḥ | havyakavyakriyāśūnyā virajiṣyaṃti rājani

Translation

ആ രൂപം ഉപസംഹരിക്കപ്പെട്ടാൽ പ്രജകളുടെ എല്ലാ ശ്രേഷ്ഠക്രമവും നശിക്കും. ഹവ്യ-കവ്യ കർമങ്ങൾ ഇല്ലാത്തവരായി, ആ രാജാവിന്റെ ഭരണത്തിൽ അവർ അവഗണനയിലും അക്രമത്തിലും പതിക്കും.

Word by Word

• समागतायाम्: when (it) has come/arrived
• समागतायाम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + आ + गम् (गम्-धातु) → समागत (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (locative absolute sense with following noun)

• तत्-मूर्तौ: in that form
• तत्-मूर्तौ: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम) + मूर्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• सर्व: all
• सर्व: Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying प्रजाः)

• अनष्टाग्रयः: with the foremost (leaders) intact
• अनष्टाग्रयः: Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन् + अष्टाग्र (प्रातिपदिक; अष्ट + अग्र)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (with the foremost/eight chiefs not destroyed / intact leaders)

• प्रजाः: subjects/people
• प्रजाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रजा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• हव्यकव्यक्रिया-शून्याः: devoid of havya-kavya rites
• हव्यकव्यक्रिया-शून्याः: Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हव्य + कव्य + क्रिया + शून्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (devoid of rites of oblations to gods and ancestors)

• विरजिष्यन्ति: will become discolored/lose luster
• विरजिष्यन्ति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + रञ्ज् (रञ्ज्-धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• राजनि: in the king (i.e., under the king's rule)
• राजनि: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

Speaker

Indra (Śakra) (continuation of instruction and its consequence)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: null

Type: null

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: As Agni’s manifestation departs, sacrificial fires dim; people abandon havya-kavya rites; the kingdom’s social ‘foremost order’ collapses into neglect under the king.

Characters & Entities

• Agni (Havyavāhana)
• the king
• subjects (prajā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When sacred rites decline—offerings to devas and pitṛs—social excellence and stability also decline; ritual and dharma are portrayed as supports of civilization.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśī-khaṇḍa setting frames the teaching, but the verse itself focuses on havya-kavya practice rather than naming a particular tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Havya (deva-offerings) and kavya (ancestor offerings) are explicitly referenced as essential rites whose absence leads to decline.