Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

यां श्रुत्वा चापमृत्युभ्यो हीयंते श्रद्धयायुताः । भूतप्रेतपिशाचेभ्यो न भयं चापि जायते

Transliteration

yāṃ śrutvā cāpamṛtyubhyo hīyaṃte śraddhayāyutāḥ | bhūtapretapiśācebhyo na bhayaṃ cāpi jāyate

Translation

เมื่อได้สดับด้วยศรัทธา ความตายก่อนกาลย่อมถูกปัดเป่า และความหวาดกลัวต่อภูต เปรต และปิศาจทั้งหลายก็ไม่บังเกิด

Word by Word

• याम्: whom/which (fem. acc. sg.)
• याम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: श्रु (धातु) + क्त्वा (अव्यय-कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया; ‘having heard’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• अपमृत्युभ्यः: from untimely deaths
• अपमृत्युभ्यः: Apādāna (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अपमृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक; अप + मृत्यु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (उपपद/उपसर्गपूर्वक)

• हीयन्ते: are diminished/are averted
• हीयन्ते: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगः—‘are diminished/are warded off’

• श्रद्धयायुताः: endowed with faith
• श्रद्धयायुताः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रद्धा (प्रातिपदिक) + युत (युज् धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय; कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (श्रद्धया युताः = श्रद्धासहिताः)

• भूतप्रेतपिशाचेभ्यः: from ghosts, departed spirits, and piśācas
• भूतप्रेतपिशाचेभ्यः: Apādāna (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत + प्रेत + पिशाच (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), बहुवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्व (भूत-प्रेत-पिशाच)

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• भयम्: fear
• भयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/समुच्चयार्थ (also/even)

• जायते: arises/is born
• जायते: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee listens with folded hands to a recitation in Kāśī; shadowy bhūtas/pretas recoil and dissolve; a protective aura of Śiva/Viśvanātha radiates, symbolizing abhaya and apamṛtyu-nivṛtti.

Characters & Entities

• Bhūta
• Preta
• Piśāca

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Faithful listening to sacred Purāṇic praise brings protection, fearlessness, and the removal of inauspicious forces.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader context is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where hearing māhātmya is repeatedly praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa (devout hearing) of the sacred account; no separate dāna/snān/japa is specified in this verse.