Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

न जरा सदृशो व्याधिर्न दुःखं जरया समम् । कारयित्र्यपमानस्य जरैव मरणं नृणाम्

Transliteration

na jarā sadṛśo vyādhirna duḥkhaṃ jarayā samam | kārayitryapamānasya jaraiva maraṇaṃ nṛṇām

Translation

Não há enfermidade como a velhice, nem tristeza igual à velhice; ela é a própria artífice da humilhação, e para os homens a velhice é a própria morte.

Word by Word

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध) ‘not’

• जरा: old age
• जरा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jarā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘old age’

• सदृशः: equal/similar
• सदृशः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृसम्बन्धी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sadṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; adjective ‘similar/equal’ (predicative)

• व्याधिः: disease
• व्याधिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyādhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘disease’

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध) ‘not’

• दुःखम्: sorrow
• दुःखम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘sorrow/pain’

• जरया: with old age
• जरया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jarā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; instrumental ‘with/by old age’

• समम्: equal
• समम्: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृसम्बन्धी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; adjective ‘equal’ (predicative)

• कारयित्री: the one that causes
• कारयित्री: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛ (धातु) → kārayitṛ (कृदन्त, णिच्) → kārayitrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तृच्-प्रत्यय (कर्तृवाचक) ‘causer/one who makes (someone do)’

• अपमानस्य: of humiliation
• अपमानस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: apamāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; ‘of humiliation/insult’

• जरा: old age
• जरा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jarā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘old age’

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण) ‘indeed/only’

• मरणम्: death
• मरणम्: Karta (Predicate nominative/प्रथमा-समाना)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘death’

• नृणाम्: of people
• नृणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; ‘of men/people’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Allegorical portrayal of Old Age as a withering force bringing humiliation: a figure of Jarā touching a man whose ornaments slip, posture collapses, and onlookers avert their gaze.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Old age brings suffering and loss of dignity; thus one should seek the deathless goal—mokṣa—through dharma and sacred refuge.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the Adhyāya’s praised mokṣa-kṣetra, though not named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific ritual is stated; the verse strengthens the call to liberation-focused practice.