Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 78

Devanagari script

खरोष्ट्रक्रोष्ट्र विरुते समवाये रुदत्यपि । उपाकर्मणि चोत्सर्गे नाविमार्गे तरौ जले

Transliteration

kharoṣṭrakroṣṭra virute samavāye rudatyapi | upākarmaṇi cotsarge nāvimārge tarau jale

Translation

गाढव व उंटांचा आरव ऐकू आला, गोंधळ व रडारड झाली; उपाकर्म व उत्सर्गकाळी; तसेच नौकेतल्या मार्गात, झाडावर किंवा पाण्यात असताना—या सर्व वेळी शास्त्राध्ययन थांबवावे।

Word by Word

• खरोष्ट्रक्रोष्ट्र: (when) donkey, camel, and jackal (collectively)
• खरोष्ट्रक्रोष्ट्र: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: खर + उष्ट्र + क्रोष्ट्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; त्रिद्वन्द्व-समाहारः (collective dvandva)

• विरुते: brays/cries
• विरुते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + रु (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• समवाये: in an assembly/at a gathering
• समवाये: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समवाय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• रुदति: cries/weeps
• रुदति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: रुद् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अप्यर्थे (even/also)

• उपाकर्मणि: at the upākarma rite
• उपाकर्मणि: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपाकर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• उत्सर्गे: at the utsarga (release/ending) rite
• उत्सर्गे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्सर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• नाविमार्गे: on a boat-route/sea route
• नाविमार्गे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नावि + मार्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः = नाव्याः मार्गः (ship-route)

• तरौ: on a tree
• तरौ: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (वैकल्पिक-रूप; locative singular of तरु)

• जले: in water
• जले: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā-ghāṭas of Kāśī (implied)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A student pauses recitation as a noisy street/ghat scene unfolds—animals bray, people bustle, someone weeps; a boat waits at the ghat, signaling travel as a liminal state unsuitable for study.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Upākarman
• Utsarga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred recitation requires mental steadiness and ritual propriety; disruptive settings and transitional rites call for restraint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader setting is Kāśī, where dharma for residents and pilgrims is taught as part of Kāśī-māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Upākarman and Utsarga are explicitly named as times connected with Vedic discipline, implying a regulated schedule for study/recitation.