Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 63

Devanagari script

पंचयज्ञानिमान्कुर्वन्ब्राह्मणो नावसीदति । एतेषामननुष्ठानात्पंचसूना अवाप्नुयात्

Transliteration

paṃcayajñānimānkurvanbrāhmaṇo nāvasīdati | eteṣāmananuṣṭhānātpaṃcasūnā avāpnuyāt

Translation

O brāhmaṇa que realiza estes cinco yajña não cai em decadência; mas, por não os cumprir, incorre nos cinco pecados de matança (pañcasūnā).

Word by Word

• पञ्चयज्ञान्: the five sacrifices
• पञ्चयज्ञान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्च + यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन; समासः द्विगु (पञ्च यज्ञाः)

• इमान्: these
• इमान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• कुर्वन्: doing, performing
• कुर्वन्: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्तः (शतृ-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगः

• ब्राह्मणः: a Brahmin
• ब्राह्मणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (particle of negation)

• अवसीदति: falls into distress / declines
• अवसीदति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + सद् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• एतेषाम्: of these
• एतेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• अननुष्ठानात्: from non-performance
• अननुष्ठानात्: Apadana (Cause/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन् + अनु + स्था (धातु) → अननुष्ठान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (अपादान), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (because of)

• पञ्चसूनाः: the five (household) violences/sins
• पञ्चसूनाः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्च + सूना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; समासः द्विगु (पञ्च सूनाः)

• अवाप्नुयात्: would obtain / incur
• अवाप्नुयात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + आप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Kāśī householder-brāhmaṇa at dawn: small agnihotra fire, offering oblations; nearby a guest is welcomed with water; food is set aside for animals; a palm-leaf manuscript indicates svādhyāya; the Ganga and ghats appear in the background as the sacred setting.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• Pañcayajña
• Pañcasūnā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Neglect of daily sacred duties creates moral debt, while steady observance of the pañcayajñas protects one from spiritual decline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Though the teaching is general dharma, it is delivered within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī framework, where right practice is praised as especially efficacious.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform the pañcayajñas regularly; failure is said to lead to pañcasūnā (grave daily-life violence/sin).