Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 65

Devanagari script

परप्राणैर्निजप्राणान्ये पुष्णंतीह दुर्धियः । शासनीयाः प्रयत्नेन श्रेयस्तच्छासनं परम्

Transliteration

paraprāṇairnijaprāṇānye puṣṇaṃtīha durdhiyaḥ | śāsanīyāḥ prayatnena śreyastacchāsanaṃ param

Translation

“മറ്റുള്ളവരുടെ പ്രാണം എടുത്ത് സ്വന്തം ജീവൻ പോഷിപ്പിക്കുന്ന മൂഢരെ പരിശ്രമത്തോടെ നിയന്ത്രിക്കണം; അത്തരം ശാസനമേ പരമ ശ്രേയസ്।”

Word by Word

• para-prāṇaiḥ: with others' lives
• para-prāṇaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक) + prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन (Plural); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—परस्य प्राणैः (with others' lives)

• nija-prāṇān: their own lives
• nija-prāṇān: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nija (प्रातिपदिक) + prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन (Plural); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—निजान् प्राणान् (one's own lives)

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• puṣṇanti: nourish/maintain
• puṣṇanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √puṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural)

• iha: here
• iha: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: here/in this world)

• durdhiyaḥ: evil-minded people
• durdhiyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: durdhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• śāsanīyāḥ: to be punished/should be disciplined
• śāsanīyāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √śās (धातु) + anīya (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (अनīय-प्रत्यय; gerundive/future passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• prayatnena: with effort
• prayatnena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prayatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• śreyaḥ: the good; welfare
• śreyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śreyas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण—शासनम् (that)

• śāsanam: punishment; discipline
• śāsanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāsana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• param: supreme
• param: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण—शासनम् (supreme)

Speaker

Vinatā

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (Frame) Agastya; immediate speaker Vinatā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Didactic moment: Vinatā’s counsel becomes a moral maxim—restraint of predatory living for the sake of the common good.

Characters & Entities

• Vinatā
• Garuḍa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes protecting beings; restraining predatory harm is presented as a higher good than passive tolerance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tirtha is named in this verse; it sits within the larger Kāśī Khaṇḍa milieu that praises Kāśī as a dharma-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse emphasizes moral governance (śāsana) rather than a rite.