Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

बलिपुष्टैरपुष्टांगा रटतः करटाः कटु । वलिभिश्चातिपुष्टांगैरबलाश्चंचुभिर्हताः

Transliteration

balipuṣṭairapuṣṭāṃgā raṭataḥ karaṭāḥ kaṭu | valibhiścātipuṣṭāṃgairabalāścaṃcubhirhatāḥ

Translation

ବଳିଦାନରେ ପୁଷ୍ଟ ହେଲେ ମଧ୍ୟ କେତେକଙ୍କ ଅଙ୍ଗ ଅପୁଷ୍ଟ ଥିଲା ଓ ସେମାନେ କଟୁ ସ୍ୱରେ ଚିତ୍କାର କଲେ; ଆଉ କେତେକ ଭୋଗରେ ଅତିସ୍ଥୂଳ ହୋଇ ନିର୍ବଳଙ୍କ ଠୁଣ୍ଟିର ପ୍ରହାରରେ ଆହତ ହେଲେ।

Word by Word

• balipuṣṭaiḥ: by those strengthened by offerings
• balipuṣṭaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bali + puṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; ‘बलिना पुष्ट’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; instrumental plural

• apuṣṭāṅgāḥ: those with un-nourished limbs
• apuṣṭāṅgāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a- + puṣṭa + aṅga (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन; ‘अपुष्टानि अङ्गानि यस्य’ इति बहुव्रीहिः/कर्मधारय-प्रायः; here as substantive plural (they whose limbs are not nourished)

• raṭataḥ: (they) roar/cry out
• raṭataḥ: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: raṭ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमा-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘they cry/roar’

• karaṭāḥ: elephants
• karaṭāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karaṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

• kaṭu: harshly, bitterly
• kaṭu: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kaṭu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• valibhiḥ: by/with the folds (wrinkles)
• valibhiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vali (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

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

• atipuṣṭāṅgaiḥ: with very well-nourished limbs
• atipuṣṭāṅgaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati + puṣṭa + aṅga (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; ‘अतिशयेन पुष्टानि अङ्गानि’ इति कर्मधारयः; instrumental plural

• abalāḥ: weak (ones)
• abalāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- + bala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन; ‘बलहीन’

• caṃcubhiḥ: by beaks
• caṃcubhiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caṃcu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

• hatāḥ: killed/struck down
• hatāḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: han (धातु) + ta (कृत्)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘slain/struck’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśī-khaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (frame) / within episode: Agastya addressed later

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A flock of distressed birds—some gaunt despite offerings, others overfed—crying harshly in the sky, struck and tumbling toward a sacred pond below; pilgrims watch from the bank.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (implied context)
• Kuṇḍa (implied in sequence)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly conditions—weakness or excess—still bind beings to suffering; the narrative prepares the listener for the liberating power of a Kāśī tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is part of the lead-up to the kuṇḍa that becomes renowned as Haṃsatīrtha near Kṛttivāseśvara in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed in this verse; it narrates distress that culminates in the revelation of the tīrtha’s saving power.