Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

जालपादान्खंजरीटान्बुडित्वा मत्स्यभक्षकान् । मत्स्याशी सर्वमांसाशी तन्मत्स्यान्सर्वथा त्यजेत्

Transliteration

jālapādānkhaṃjarīṭānbuḍitvā matsyabhakṣakān | matsyāśī sarvamāṃsāśī tanmatsyānsarvathā tyajet

Translation

พึงเว้นนกตีนพังผืด นกคัมชะรีฏะ นกดำน้ำ และสัตว์ที่กินปลา เพราะผู้กินปลาย่อมเป็นผู้กินเนื้อทุกชนิด ฉะนั้นพึงละเว้นปลานั้นโดยสิ้นเชิง

Word by Word

• जालपादान्: net-footed (birds/creatures)
• जालपादान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जालपाद (प्रातिपदिक; जाल + पाद)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), बहुवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जालस्य पादाः)

• खंजरीटान्: khaṃjarīṭa birds (a kind of bird)
• खंजरीटान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: खंजरीट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• बुडित्वा: having drowned/sunk
• बुडित्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial to main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: बुड् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund); ‘बुड्’ धातोः—बुडित्वा = निमज्ज्य/डुबित्वा (having sunk/drowned)

• मत्स्यभक्षकान्: fish-eaters
• मत्स्यभक्षकान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मत्स्यभक्षक (प्रातिपदिक; मत्स्य + भक्षक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मत्स्यानां भक्षकाः)

• मत्स्याशी: one who eats fish
• मत्स्याशी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मत्स्याशी (प्रातिपदिक; मत्स्य + आशी)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मत्स्यं अश्नाति इति)

• सर्वमांसाशी: one who eats all kinds of meat
• सर्वमांसाशी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वमांसाशी (प्रातिपदिक; सर्व + मांस + आशी)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (सर्वं मांसं अश्नाति)

• तत्: that/its
• तत्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (मात्स्य-सम्बन्धि)

• मत्स्यान्: fish
• मत्स्यान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मत्स्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• सर्वथा: in every way; completely
• सर्वथा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• त्यजेत्: should abandon/avoid
• त्यजेत्: Kriyā (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Kāśī pilgrim at dawn on a Gaṅgā ghat refuses fish offered by a vendor; nearby waterbirds and divers skim the river; the ghat steps, lamps, and distant Viśvanātha spire suggest sacred restraint amid bustling life.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text frames fish-eating as a gateway to broader meat-eating tendencies, urging firm restraint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the contextual holy field; the verse promotes purity norms expected of those seeking merit there.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Complete abstention from fish (and from creatures characterized as fish-eaters) is prescribed.