Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

पितृभ्यां परिहीनानामितिहास कथाविदाम् । त्यक्ताहारविहाराणां कीराणां वरदो भव

Transliteration

pitṛbhyāṃ parihīnānāmitihāsa kathāvidām | tyaktāhāravihārāṇāṃ kīrāṇāṃ varado bhava

Translation

പിതാമാതാക്കളില്ലാത്ത, ഇതിഹാസകഥകളിൽ നിപുണരായ, ആഹാരവിഹാരങ്ങൾ ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച ഈ കീറുകൾക്ക് (തത്തകൾക്ക്) നീ വരദാതാവാകണമേ।

Word by Word

• पितृभ्याम्: by (their) two parents
• पितृभ्याम्: Karaṇa (Instrument; 'by/with parents')
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/instrumental), द्विवचन

• परिहीनानाम्: of those deprived
• परिहीनानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परि (उपसर्ग) + हीन (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √हा धातु, क्त/निष्ठा-भाव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (genitive plural)

• इतिहास: history/legend
• इतिहास: Sambandha (Compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इतिहास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासपूर्वपद (compound member)

• कथाविदाम्: of the knowers of stories
• कथाविदाम्: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा (प्रातिपदिक) + विद् (प्रातिपदिक: 'knower')
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कथायाः विदः)

• त्यक्त: having abandoned
• त्यक्त: Sambandha (Compound member)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्यक्त (कृदन्त; √त्यज् धातु, क्त)
• Form: समासपूर्वपद (past passive participle used in compound)

• आहार: food
• आहार: Sambandha (Compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासाङ्ग (compound member)

• विहाराणाम्: of recreation/pleasures
• विहाराणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; in compound with āhāra

• कीराणाम्: of the parrots
• कीराणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive; beneficiaries)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन

• वरदः: boon-giving
• वरदः: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर (प्रातिपदिक) + द (प्रातिपदिक from √दा 'giver')
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (वरं ददाति)

• भव: be
• भव: Kriyā (Imperative predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Dharmarāja (Yama)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī/Avimukta

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sage-audience / pilgrims

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The devotee pleads: ‘Grant a boon to these parrots’—parentless, learned in itihāsa and kathā, austere in renunciation—standing quietly before Śiva.

Characters & Entities

• Dharmarāja (Yama)
• Śiva
• Kīra (parrots)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine grace is sought for the vulnerable; knowledge of sacred narratives and restraint are honored even in non-human beings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Kāśī Khaṇḍa setting underlines Kāśī as a landscape where compassion and dharma extend to all creatures.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied ascetic practice: tyāga of āhāra-vihāra (renunciation of food and ordinary indulgence/roaming), but no formal rite is detailed.