Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 77

Devanagari script

एतदेव नृणां प्रोक्तं पुरुषार्थचतुष्टयम् । यदेतेषां हि संतोष उपधर्मोन्य उच्यते

Transliteration

etadeva nṛṇāṃ proktaṃ puruṣārthacatuṣṭayam | yadeteṣāṃ hi saṃtoṣa upadharmonya ucyate

Translation

นี่แลเป็นปุรุษารถะสี่ประการที่กล่าวไว้สำหรับมนุษย์ คือ ความพอพระทัยของมารดา บิดา และครูบาอาจารย์นั้นเอง เรียกว่าอุปธรรมอันสูงสุด

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• नृणाम्: of men
• नृणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• प्रोक्तम्: declared, stated
• प्रोक्तम्: Kriya (Predicative participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√वच् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (Past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• पुरुषार्थचतुष्टयम्: the four aims of human life
• पुरुषार्थचतुष्टयम्: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुषार्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + चतुष्टय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (Genitive determinative): 'पुरुषार्थाणां चतुष्टयम्'

• यत्: which (namely)
• यत्: Sambandha (Relative connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular), सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम (relative)

• एतेषाम्: of these
• एतेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• हि: indeed, for
• हि: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: emphasis/causal nuance)

• संतोषः: satisfaction
• संतोषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संतोष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• उपधर्मः: subsidiary duty, secondary dharma
• उपधर्मः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपधर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• अन्यः: another
• अन्यः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• उच्यते: is said
• उच्यते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Frame audience (sages/pilgrims)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic wheel of four aims (dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣa) encircles the central triad (mother, father, guru); the devotee offers a lamp, showing that their satisfaction stabilizes the whole wheel.

Characters & Entities

• puruṣārtha (four aims)
• mother
• father
• guru
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse reframes the goals of life: the surest ‘supporting dharma’ is to keep mother, father, and guru genuinely satisfied through right conduct.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching is part of Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī-centered instruction, where dharma is celebrated as the heart of sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No single ritual is named; the prescription is sustained ethical practice—service that leads to the elders’ saṃtoṣa (contentment).