Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

दैवं हेतुं वदंत्येवं भृशं कापुरुषाः पते । स्वयं पुराकृतं कर्म दैवं तच्च न हीतरत्

Transliteration

daivaṃ hetuṃ vadaṃtyevaṃ bhṛśaṃ kāpuruṣāḥ pate | svayaṃ purākṛtaṃ karma daivaṃ tacca na hītarat

Translation

“ကံကြမ္မာက အကြောင်းရင်း” ဟု အားနည်းသူတို့က၊ အို သခင်၊ အလွန်အကျွံ ပြောကြသည်။ သို့သော် “ကံကြမ္မာ” ဟူသည် မိမိက အတိတ်က ပြုခဲ့သော ကမ္မသာ ဖြစ်ပြီး၊ အခြားမဟုတ်။

Word by Word

• दैवम्: fate, destiny
• दैवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन (neut. acc. sg.)

• हेतुम्: cause
• हेतुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हेतु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन (masc. acc. sg.)

• वदन्ति: say
• वदन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वद् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद (3rd pl. pres.)

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: 'thus')

• भृशम्: greatly, excessively
• भृशम्: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भृशम् (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण/तीव्रतावाचक-अव्यय (adverb: 'excessively/strongly')

• कापुरुषाः: cowards, base men
• कापुरुषाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कापुरुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (masc. nom. pl.)

• पते: O lord, O husband
• पते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन (voc. sg.)

• स्वयम्: by oneself
• स्वयम्: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: स्वतन्त्रतावाचक-अव्यय (indeclinable: 'oneself/by oneself')

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: 'formerly')

• कृतम्: done, performed
• कृतम्: Karma-qualifier (कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त) → कृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन (neut. nom./acc. sg.)

• कर्म: action, deed
• कर्म: Karta-predicate (विधेय-नाम)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन (neut. nom./acc. sg.)

• दैवम्: (is) fate
• दैवम्: Predicate noun (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन (neut. nom./acc. sg.); विधेय (predicate)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Anaphoric/Predicate link (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (neut. nom./acc. sg.)

• च: and
• च: Connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction: 'and')

• न: not
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Emphasis (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-निपात (particle: 'indeed')

• इतरत्: other, otherwise
• इतरत्: Predicate complement (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इतर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (neut. nom./acc. sg.: 'other/otherwise')

Speaker

Kanakakuṇḍala

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (general)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yakṣiṇī (addressed as ‘pate’ in the verse’s vocative frame; narrative may involve role-played address)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A firm, instructive moment: Kanakakuṇḍala admonishes ‘timid men’ who blame fate; the scene shows a contrast—one figure slumped in resignation, another upright in resolve near a shrine path.

Characters & Entities

• daiva (fate)
• karma
• kāpuruṣa (timid person)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse rejects helpless fatalism: destiny (daiva) is understood as the maturation of one’s own past karma, encouraging responsible dharmic action.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not explicit in this verse; it is part of the Kāśī-khaṇḍa narrative that frames dharma teachings within the sacred geography of Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a doctrinal teaching urging effort and ethical responsibility.