Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 47

Devanagari script

शिखी चोपग्रहकरः सर्वेभ्योऽसत्प्रतिग्रही । तस्यापत्यद्वयं जातमुन्मत्तपथवर्तिनः

Transliteration

śikhī copagrahakaraḥ sarvebhyo'satpratigrahī | tasyāpatyadvayaṃ jātamunmattapathavartinaḥ

Translation

ശിഖിയും ചെറുചെറു ലാഭങ്ങളിൽ ജീവിക്കുന്നവനും ഏവരിൽ നിന്നുമുള്ള അനുപയോഗ്യ ദാനം സ്വീകരിക്കുന്നവനും ആയിരുന്നു. അവനു രണ്ടു മക്കൾ ജനിച്ചു; അവർ ഉന്മത്തവും മോഹഭ്രാന്തവുമായ വഴിയിൽ നടന്നവർ ആയിരുന്നു.

Word by Word

• śikhī: Śikhī (a person named Śikhī)
• śikhī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śikhin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषनाम/व्यक्तिवाचक

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• upagraha-karaḥ: one who makes/does ‘upagraha’ (seizure/appropriation)
• upagraha-karaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upagraha (प्रातिपदिक) + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (उपग्रहस्य करणः)

• sarvebhyaḥ: from all (people)
• sarvebhyaḥ: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative) अथवा चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), बहुवचन; अत्र ‘सर्वेभ्यः’ = ‘from all/for all’ (contextual)

• asat-pratigrahī: an improper receiver (one who accepts unworthily)
• asat-pratigrahī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asat (प्रातिपदिक) + pratigrahin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (असन् प्रतिग्राही)

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• apatya-dvayam: a pair of offspring (two children)
• apatya-dvayam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: apatya (प्रातिपदिक) + dvi (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (द्वे अपत्ये)

• jātam: was born
• jātam: Kriya (क्रिया/भाव)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु) → jāta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘born/produced’ (predicate participle)

• unmatta-patha-vartinaḥ: of one who follows the path of the mad (i.e., mad conduct)
• unmatta-patha-vartinaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: unmatta (प्रातिपदिक) + patha (प्रातिपदिक) + vartin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (उन्मत्तानां पथः/उन्मत्तपथः तत्र वर्तते इति)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A morally compromised man (Śikhī) in Kāśī, surrounded by signs of small-time transactions; behind him, two unruly children embodying reckless conduct, while the sacred city’s ghats loom as a silent moral backdrop.

Characters & Entities

• Śikhī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unrighteous acceptance of gifts and exploitative livelihood lead to moral decline and harmful consequences within one’s family line.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader frame is Kāśī-māhātmya; this verse sets an ethical backdrop rather than naming a specific tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse warns against asat-pratigraha (accepting improper gifts), a key dharmic concern connected to dāna.