Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

एवंभूता भवंत्येव मातापितृविवर्जिताः । निर्गुणा अकुलीनाश्च कर्मभ्रष्टा निरंकुशाः

Transliteration

evaṃbhūtā bhavaṃtyeva mātāpitṛvivarjitāḥ | nirguṇā akulīnāśca karmabhraṣṭā niraṃkuśāḥ

Translation

മാതാപിതാക്കളില്ലാത്തവർ ഇങ്ങനെയുള്ളവരായിരിക്കും; ഗുണമില്ലാത്തവരും കുലമില്ലാത്തവരും കർമ്മഭ്രഷ്ടരും നിയന്ത്രണമില്ലാത്തവരും.

Word by Word

• एवंभूताः: such (of this kind)
• एवंभूताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एवं + भूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (एवंभूताः = एवम्-भूताः)

• भवन्ति: become/are
• भवन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphasis)

• मातापितृविवर्जिताः: deprived of mother and father
• मातापितृविवर्जिताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: माता + पितृ + विवर्जित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्व (मातापितरौ) + तृतीया/पञ्चमी-तत्पुरुष (विवर्जिताः = वर्जिताः)

• निर्गुणाः: without virtues
• निर्गुणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर् + गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; नञ्/निर्-प्रत्ययेन निषेधार्थ

• अकुलीनाः: ignoble, not well-born
• अकुलीनाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ + कुलीन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; नञ्-पूर्वक

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• कर्मभ्रष्टाः: fallen from proper conduct/duty
• कर्मभ्रष्टाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कर्मन् + भ्रष्ट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (कर्मणः भ्रष्टाः/कर्मात् भ्रष्टाः)

• निरंकुशाः: unrestrained
• निरंकुशाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर् + अंकुश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; निर्-पूर्वक (अंकुशः = restraint)

Speaker

Unspecified character (continuing narrative speaker; not stated in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A moralizing tableau: figures depicted as drifting without guidance—youths ignoring elders—contrasted with a steady ascetic or teacher figure in the background, suggesting the remedy.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It warns against abandoning restraint and righteous conduct, portraying such a fall as a loss of grounding, virtue, and dharmic orientation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the textual setting; this verse itself is moral commentary rather than tīrtha-glorification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is an ethical characterization.