Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

गुरुशुश्रूषणं धर्म एको हि ब्रह्मचारिणाम् । अनिष्पाद्य तु तद्वाक्यं कथं मे निष्कृतिर्भवेत्

Transliteration

guruśuśrūṣaṇaṃ dharma eko hi brahmacāriṇām | aniṣpādya tu tadvākyaṃ kathaṃ me niṣkṛtirbhavet

Translation

பிரம்மச்சாரிகளுக்கு குரு-சேவையே ஒரே முதன்மை தர்மம். குருவின் ஆணையை நிறைவேற்றாவிட்டால் எனக்கு பிராயச்சித்தம் எவ்வாறு உண்டாகும்?

Word by Word

• गुरुशुश्रूषणम्: service/obedient attendance to the guru
• गुरुशुश्रूषणम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु + शुश्रूषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (गुरोः शुश्रूषणम्)

• धर्मः: duty; dharma
• धर्मः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• एकः: one; single
• एकः: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (धर्मः)

• हि: indeed; for
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• ब्रह्मचारिणाम्: of brahmacārins (students)
• ब्रह्मचारिणाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मचारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• अनिष्पाद्य: without accomplishing
• अनिष्पाद्य: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + √पद् (धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund) नकार-निषेधयुक्त; अर्थः—‘असम्पाद्य/अकृत्वा’

• तु: but; however
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (contrastive particle)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (वाक्यम्)

• वाक्यम्: command; statement
• वाक्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• कथम्: how?
• कथम्: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• मे: my; for me
• मे: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; एन्क्लिटिक रूप

• निष्कृतिः: expiation; deliverance
• निष्कृतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निष्कृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• भवेत्: would be; may occur
• भवेत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A seeker/śiṣya figure within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa dialogue frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A young brahmacārin, hands folded, reflects anxiously on the guru’s command, with a forest hermitage backdrop and a distant suggestion of Kāśī’s ghāṭas as the spiritual goal.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Guru
• Brahmacārin

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Student-life is anchored in guru-service; neglecting the guru’s word undermines one’s spiritual standing and blocks expiation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the larger sacred frame, but the verse is a dharma-teaching rather than a tīrtha-glorification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It implies prāyaścitta (atonement) conceptually, but no specific rite is prescribed here.