Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

लक्ष्मांतरं समाचक्ष्व द्विजबोधकरं प्रसूः । येन विज्ञाय तं विप्रं त्यजेयमपि कंठगम्

Transliteration

lakṣmāṃtaraṃ samācakṣva dvijabodhakaraṃ prasūḥ | yena vijñāya taṃ vipraṃ tyajeyamapi kaṃṭhagam

Translation

അമ്മേ, ബ്രാഹ്മണനെ തിരിച്ചറിയിക്കുന്ന പ്രത്യേക ലക്ഷണം എനിക്ക് പറഞ്ഞുതരിക; അത് അറിഞ്ഞാൽ എന്റെ കണ്ഠത്തിൽ കുടുങ്ങിയവനെയും ഞാൻ ഉപേക്ഷിക്കും।

Word by Word

• लक्ष्मा-अन्तरम्: the difference/interval regarding Lakṣmā
• लक्ष्मा-अन्तरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लक्ष्मा (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (लक्ष्मायाः अन्तरम्)

• समाचक्ष्व: tell, explain
• समाचक्ष्व: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-चक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• द्विज-बोध-करम्: causing a brāhmaṇa to understand
• द्विज-बोध-करम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + बोध (प्रातिपदिक) + कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (द्विजानां बोधं करोति इति)

• प्रसूः: the mother (Vinātā)
• प्रसूः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रसू (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• येन: by which
• येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• विज्ञाय: having known
• विज्ञाय: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• तम्: that
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• विप्रम्: brāhmaṇa
• विप्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• त्यजेयम्: I should abandon
• त्यजेयम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकार (optative), उत्तम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• अपि: even, also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• कण्ठ-गम्: gone into the throat; lodged in the throat
• कण्ठ-गम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कण्ठ (प्रातिपदिक) + ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (कण्ठं गतः)

Speaker

Garuda (Tārkṣya/Pakṣīndra), addressing his mother Vinatā

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya (frame) / within episode: Garuḍa addressing Vinatā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A young Garuḍa, troubled, asks his mother Vinatā for the defining sign of a brāhmaṇa, implying someone is caught in his throat; the scene is intimate, didactic, and tense.

Characters & Entities

• Vinatā
• Garuda (Tārkṣya)
• Dvija/Vipra (Brāhmaṇa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma requires discerning and honoring a brāhmaṇa; even urgent personal discomfort should not lead to harming the righteous.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader setting is Kāśī-khaṇḍa (Vārāṇasī/Kāśī-māhātmya), though this verse itself is a dharmic dialogue episode rather than a direct tirtha description.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the focus is ethical discernment and restraint in action.