Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

सदा कर्तुं न शक्नोति व्रतानि यदि मानवः । चातुर्मास्यमनुप्राप्य तदा कुर्यात्प्रयत्नतः

Transliteration

sadā kartuṃ na śaknoti vratāni yadi mānavaḥ | cāturmāsyamanuprāpya tadā kuryātprayatnataḥ

Translation

മനുഷ്യന് എല്ലായ്പ്പോഴും വ്രതങ്ങൾ ചെയ്യാൻ കഴിയില്ലെങ്കിൽ, ചാതുർമാസ്യകാലം എത്തിയാൽ അവ പ്രത്യേക പരിശ്രമത്തോടെ അനുഷ്ഠിക്കണം.

Word by Word

• sadā: always
• sadā: Avyaya (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• kartum: to do, to perform
• kartum: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु) → kartum (कृदन्त)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (infinitive) ‘कर्तुम्’

• na: not
• na: Avyaya (Negation/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेधार्थक निपात (negation)

• śaknoti: is able
• śaknoti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śak (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• vratāni: vows
• vratāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vrata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• yadi: if
• yadi: Avyaya (Condition/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; शर्तार्थक अव्यय (conditional particle)

• mānavaḥ: a human
• mānavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• cāturmāsyam: the Cāturmāsya (four-month observance)
• cāturmāsyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāturmāsya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘चातुर्मास्य’ = चतुर्माससम्बद्धं व्रतम्/कालः

• anuprāpya: having reached, after obtaining
• anuprāpya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anu-pra-āp (धातु) → anuprāpya (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund) ‘अनुप्राप्य’ = having reached/after obtaining

• tadā: then
• tadā: Avyaya (Temporal/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (then)

• kuryāt: should do
• kuryāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

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

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Monsoon-season Kāśī: rain-washed ghats, devotees under umbrellas or cloaks, maintaining vows with lamps in sheltered niches; a calendar motif marking the four months.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Cāturmāsya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When constant discipline is difficult, sacred seasons like Cāturmāsya provide a focused window for intensified practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it gives time-based (kāla) dharma within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Undertake vratas during Cāturmāsya with deliberate effort if year-round observance is not possible.