Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

तन्मूलर्क्षविपाकेन चिंताख्येन ज्वरेण च । स विप्रः पंचतां प्राप्तस्त्यक्त्वा सर्वं गृहादिकम्

Transliteration

tanmūlarkṣavipākena ciṃtākhyena jvareṇa ca | sa vipraḥ paṃcatāṃ prāptastyaktvā sarvaṃ gṛhādikam

Translation

ആ മൂല-നക്ഷത്രബന്ധിതമായ വിധി-വിപാകത്താലും ‘ചിന്ത’ എന്ന ജ്വരത്താലും പീഡിതനായ ആ വിപ്രൻ ഗൃഹാദി എല്ലാം ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് പഞ്ചത്വം പ്രാപിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• तत्: that
• तत्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-सम्बन्धार्थे (पूर्वपद), एकवचन — ‘of that’ used as compound member

• मूल: root/cause
• मूल: Sambandha/Qualifier
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (compound member) — root/cause

• अर्क्ष: arkṣa (bear/term)
• अर्क्ष: Sambandha/Qualifier
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्क्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (प्रयोगे), प्रातिपदिक (compound member) — ‘bear’; here as member in a technical compound

• विपाकेन: by the resultant complication
• विपाकेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विपाक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन — Instrumental singular; compound: तत्-मूल-अर्क्ष-विपाक (result/complication arising from that root)

• चिन्ताख्येन: called ‘anxiety’
• चिन्ताख्येन: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चिन्ता + आख्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन — Instrumental singular: ‘called anxiety’

• ज्वरेण: by fever
• ज्वरेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन — Instrumental singular (by fever)

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

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular (he)

• विप्रः: brahmin
• विप्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular

• पञ्चताम्: death
• पञ्चताम्: Gati/Karma (Goal/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्चता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन — Accusative singular (state of being five = death)

• प्राप्तः: reached
• प्राप्तः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+आप् (धातु) → प्राप्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘having reached’ (predicative)

• त्यक्त्वा: having abandoned
• त्यक्त्वा: Purvakala (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वकाल — having abandoned

• सर्वम्: everything
• सर्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन — Accusative singular (everything)

• गृहादिकम्: house and the like
• गृहादिकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृह + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन — Accusative singular; compound: गृह-आदि-क (house etc.)

Speaker

Skanda (narrating; deduced Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A brāhmaṇa’s final moments: household goods and ritual vessels lie unattended; relatives lament; above, a starry band highlights ‘Mūla’ as a symbolic constellation, while the Gaṅgā and temple spire suggest Kāśī’s ever-present mokṣa horizon.

Characters & Entities

• Mūla (Nakṣatra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Life’s fragility and the force of karmic fruition are highlighted; attachment and worry can hasten decline, urging dharmic detachment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it remains within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī-centered narrative continuum.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates death and renunciation-by-circumstance rather than a prescribed rite.