Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

यतः प्रजापतिर्दक्षो न त्वामाहूतवान्क्रतौ । तेनाद्यरीढि तं दृष्ट्वा देवर्षिमनुजा अपि

Transliteration

yataḥ prajāpatirdakṣo na tvāmāhūtavānkratau | tenādyarīḍhi taṃ dṛṣṭvā devarṣimanujā api

Translation

ପ୍ରଜାପତି ଦକ୍ଷ ଯଜ୍ଞରେ ତୁମକୁ ଆହ୍ୱାନ କରିନଥିଲେ; ତେଣୁ ଆଜି ମଧ୍ୟ ତାଙ୍କୁ ଦେଖି ଦେବର୍ଷି ଓ ମନୁଷ୍ୟ—ସେ ଅପରାଧ ଜାଣି—ତାଙ୍କଠାରୁ ପଛକୁ ହଟନ୍ତି।

Word by Word

• yataḥ: since/because
• yataḥ: Sambandha (Causal linker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatas (अव्यय; तसिल्)
• Form: तसिलन्त-अव्ययम् (from which/since)

• prajāpatiḥ: Prajāpati
• prajāpatiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā-pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (प्रजायाः पतिः)

• dakṣaḥ: Dakṣa
• dakṣaḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; (नाम)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• tvām: you
• tvām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम)
• Form: सर्वनाम-शब्दः; द्वितीया, एकवचनम्

• āhūtavān: invited (has invited)
• āhūtavān: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā√hū (धातु) → āhūta (कृदन्त) + vān (मतुप्-तुल्य)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त-भूतकृदन्तम् (आहूत) + वान् (कर्तरि); पुंलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; परोक्षभूतार्थे (perfective past sense): 'having invited'

• kratau: in the sacrifice
• kratau: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kratu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम्, सप्तमी, एकवचनम्

• tena: therefore/by that
• tena: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गम्, तृतीया, एकवचनम्; कारण/हेतौ (instrumental: therefore/by that)

• adya: today/now
• adya: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय

• arīḍhi: you became angry/resentful
• arīḍhi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √rīḍh (धातु; रीड्/रीढ्)
• Form: लिट्-लकारः (Perfect) / अथवा लुङ्-रूपसदृशम्; परस्मैपदम्, मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; (पाठानुसार: 'you have been offended/angered')

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम्, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Sambandha (Prior action/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √dṛś (धातु) → dṛṣṭvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त-अव्ययम् (absolutive/gerund): 'having seen'

• devarṣim: the divine sage
• devarṣim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva-ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम्, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (देवानां ऋषिः / देव-ऋषिः)

• anujāḥ: younger ones; followers
• anujāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anuja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कारार्थक-अव्यय (also/even)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced Kāśīkhaṇḍa norm: Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A flashback tableau: Dakṣa’s grand sacrifice hall with offerings and priests; an empty seat meant for Śiva; sages and humans turning away in recoil as the moral weight of omission becomes visible like a dark aura around Dakṣa.

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣa
• Prajāpati
• Śiva
• Devarṣi

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual without reverence for Śiva—and prideful exclusion of the divine—becomes a cause of disgrace and spiritual failure.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī’s Shaiva worldview is the backdrop, where Mahākāla/Śiva is treated as indispensable to sacred order.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicit: yajña must be aligned with devotion and humility; excluding the Lord invalidates the spirit of sacrifice.