Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 77

Devanagari script

असमर्च्य च यो भुङ्क्ते पत्रपुष्पफलैरपि । रेतोभक्षी भवेन्मूढः स जन्मान्येकविंशतिम्

Transliteration

asamarcya ca yo bhuṅkte patrapuṣpaphalairapi | retobhakṣī bhavenmūḍhaḥ sa janmānyekaviṃśatim

Translation

ആരാധന ചെയ്യാതെ ഇല, പൂവ്, ഫലം മാത്രമെങ്കിലും ഭക്ഷിക്കുന്നവൻ, ആ മൂഢൻ ഇരുപത്തൊന്ന് ജന്മങ്ങളിൽ ‘രേതോഭക്ഷി’ ആകുന്നു.

Word by Word

• a-samarcya: without worshipping
• a-samarcya: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: an (नञ्) + sam√arc (धातु) + lyap (कृत्)
• Form: कृदन्त — नञ्-पूर्वक ल्यप् (absolutive): without worshipping/without honoring

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — समुच्चय (and)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Relative pronoun: who

• bhuṅkte: eats
• bhuṅkte: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhuj (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — eats/enjoys

• patra-puṣpa-phalaiḥ: with leaves, flowers, and fruits
• patra-puṣpa-phalaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: patra (प्रातिपदिक) + puṣpa (प्रातिपदिक) + phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन — Instrumental plural; द्वन्द्व-समास (copulative: leaves+flowers+fruits)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — निपात (even/also)

• retaḥ-bhakṣī: a semen-eater
• retaḥ-bhakṣī: Visheshya (Predicate complement/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: retaḥ (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakṣin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular; तत्पुरुषः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: retaḥsya bhakṣī)

• bhavet: would become
• bhavet: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लृट्/विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधिलिङ्), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — would become

• mūḍhaḥ: deluded, foolish
• mūḍhaḥ: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mūḍha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Demonstrative pronoun: he

• janmāni: births, lives
• janmāni: Karma (Extent/कर्म-प्रवृत्तिनिमित्त)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन — Accusative plural (as duration/extent)

• eka-viṃśatim: twenty-one
• eka-viṃśatim: Visheshana (Numeral modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + viṃśati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (संख्यावाचक), द्वितीया, एकवचन — Accusative singular used as numeral; द्विगु-समास (21)

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-Avimukta (arcana-niyama)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (typical)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A warning tableau: a proud ascetic eats forest fare without worship; a stern divine presence indicates karmic consequence across births, emphasizing the gravity of neglecting arcana.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Worship (arcana)
• Patra-puṣpa-phala
• Karma/rebirth

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ascetic diet alone is not purity; without worship and offering, even “simple” food becomes spiritually blameworthy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The warning is delivered within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī milieu, reinforcing Kāśī’s devotional culture centered on Śiva-arcana.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Do not eat without first performing worship/arcana (and implicitly offering) to the deity.