Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 77

Devanagari script

कृच्छ्रचांद्रायणादीनि कर्तव्यानि प्रयत्नतः । अशुचिः शुचितामेति कायो यद्व्रतधारणात्

Transliteration

kṛcchracāṃdrāyaṇādīni kartavyāni prayatnataḥ | aśuciḥ śucitāmeti kāyo yadvratadhāraṇāt

Translation

കൃച്ഛ്രം, ചാന്ദ്രായണം മുതലായ തപോവ്രതങ്ങൾ പരിശ്രമത്തോടെ അനുഷ്ഠിക്കണം; വ്രതധാരണത്താൽ അശുചിയായ ദേഹവും ശുചിത്വം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• kṛcchracāṃdrāyaṇādīni: Kṛcchra, Cāndrāyaṇa and other (vows/penances)
• kṛcchracāṃdrāyaṇādīni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛcchra (प्रातिपदिक) + cāṃdrāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; समासः—(कृच्छ्रं च चान्द्रायणं च) + आदि; ‘आदि’समासान्तेन ‘इत्यादीनि’

• kartavyāni: should be performed
• kartavyāni: Predicate (Vidheyaviśeṣaṇa/विधेयविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛ (धातु) → kartavya (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; भाव्य/कर्तव्यतार्थक—‘कर्तुं योग्य/आवश्यक’ (to be done)

• prayatnataḥ: with effort, diligently
• prayatnataḥ: Avyaya (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prayatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ablatival adverb) ‘प्रयत्नतः’ = प्रयत्नेन/यत्नपूर्वम्

• aśuciḥ: (one who is) impure
• aśuciḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-śuci (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणरूपेण—‘अशुचि’ (impure)

• śucitām: purity
• śucitām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śucitā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• eti: attains
• eti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: i (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• kāyaḥ: the body
• kāyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• yat: because
• yat: Avyaya (Causal/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; कारणार्थक अव्ययप्रयोगः (yad = because/since, introducing reason)

• vratadhāraṇāt: from the observance of vows
• vratadhāraṇāt: Apadana (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vrata (प्रातिपदिक) + dhāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (अपादान), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—व्रतस्य धारणम्

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vow-holder marking lunar days, reducing food according to the moon (Cāndrāyaṇa), with a calendar-like lunar disc motif; the setting evokes a quiet Kāśī āśrama near the river.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Kṛcchra
• Cāndrāyaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sustained observance of penance-vratas transforms impurity into purity, making one fit for dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None explicitly; this is a dharma-oriented instruction within the broader Kāśī sacred narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Kṛcchra and Cāndrāyaṇa-type penances undertaken as disciplined vrata/prāyaścitta.