Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

कोयंकोयं दुराचारः पिंगाक्षे मयि जीवति । उल्लुलुंठयिषुः पांथान्प्राणलिंगसमान्मम

Transliteration

koyaṃkoyaṃ durācāraḥ piṃgākṣe mayi jīvati | ulluluṃṭhayiṣuḥ pāṃthānprāṇaliṃgasamānmama

Translation

हा कोण दुराचारी, मी पिंगाक्ष जिवंत असताना, माझ्या प्राण व लिंगासारख्या प्रिय पथिकांना पूर्णपणे लुटू पाहतो?

Word by Word

• कः: who? / what (person)?
• कः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (interrogative pronoun), पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), एकवचन (singular), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (nominative, 1st case)

• अयम्: this (one)
• अयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), एकवचन (singular), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (nominative, 1st case)

• कः: who?
• कः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (interrogative pronoun), पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), एकवचन (singular), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (nominative, 1st case)

• अयम्: this (one)
• अयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), एकवचन (singular), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (nominative, 1st case)

• दुराचारः: evil-doer / miscreant
• दुराचारः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुराचार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), एकवचन (singular), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (nominative, 1st case)

• पिंगाक्षे: O Piṅgākṣa
• पिंगाक्षे: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिंगाक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), एकवचन (singular), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (locative, 7th case); संबोधनार्थे सप्तमी (locative of address): ‘O Piṅgākṣa’

• मयि: when I (am present) / in me
• मयि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), एकवचन (singular), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (locative, 7th case)

• जीवति: lives / is alive
• जीवति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जीव् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

• उल्लुलुंठयिषुः: intending to rob
• उल्लुलुंठयिषुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उत् + लुलुठ्/लुठ् (धातु)
• Form: इषु-प्रत्यय (desiderative/intentive participial noun), पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), एकवचन (singular), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (nominative, 1st case); ‘desiring/intending to plunder’

• पांथान्: travellers
• पांथान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पांथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), बहुवचन (plural), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (accusative, 2nd case)

• प्राणलिंगसमान्: as dear as life
• प्राणलिंगसमान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राण + लिंग + समान (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), बहुवचन (plural), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (accusative, 2nd case); विशेषण (adjective) to पांथान्; ‘प्राणलिंगैः समानान्’ (equal to life itself / as dear as life)

• मम: my
• मम: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), एकवचन (singular), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (genitive, 6th case)

Speaker

Bhilla (deduced from immediate narrative: the robber speaks on arrival)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī/Avimukta (pilgrim-protection ethos)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Piṅgākṣa, alive with righteous anger, confronts the unseen/approaching miscreant: his stance is protective, declaring the travelers as dear as his life and liṅga.

Characters & Entities

• Piṅgākṣa
• Bhilla (implied speaker)
• pāṃthāḥ (travelers)
• liṅga (as sacred emblem)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It dramatizes the duty to protect travelers and frames their safety as sacred—linked even to the reverence for the liṅga.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; the broader Kāśīkhaṇḍa context connects the narrative to Kāśī’s sacred sphere.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.