Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 98

Devanagari script

यद्यहं मातृभक्तोस्मि स्वामिनः शंकरादपि । तदा मे बुद्धिरत्रास्तु पीयूषहरणं क्षमा

Transliteration

yadyahaṃ mātṛbhaktosmi svāminaḥ śaṃkarādapi | tadā me buddhiratrāstu pīyūṣaharaṇaṃ kṣamā

Translation

หากข้าพเจ้าเป็นผู้ภักดีต่อมารดาอย่างแท้จริง—ยิ่งกว่าหน้าที่ต่อองค์ศังกระผู้เป็นนาย—ขอให้ปัญญาอันถูกต้องบังเกิดในข้าพเจ้า ณ ที่นี้ เพื่อให้การนำอมฤตไปได้สำเร็จ

Word by Word

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; शर्तार्थक-समुच्चय (conditional particle)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; उत्तमपुरुष-सूचक; एकवचन; प्रथमा (Nominative)

• मातृभक्तः: devotee of (my) mother
• मातृभक्तः: Karta-predicative (कर्तृ-विशेषण/प्रत्ययार्थ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √bhaj सेवायाम्)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मातुः भक्तः); पुल्लिङ्ग; एकवचन; प्रथमा (Nominative)

• अस्मि: am
• अस्मि: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस्) सत्तायाम्
• Form: लट् (Present); उत्तमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• स्वामिनः: of the lord/master
• स्वामिनः: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svāmin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; एकवचन; षष्ठी (Genitive)

• शंकरात्: from Śaṅkara
• शंकरात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; एकवचन; पञ्चमी (Ablative)

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

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal adverb)

• मे: my/of me
• मे: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; एकवचन; षष्ठी (Genitive)

• बुद्धिः: intention/resolve
• बुद्धिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: buddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; एकवचन; प्रथमा (Nominative)

• अत्र: here/in this matter
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Place/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (locative adverb)

• अस्तु: let it be
• अस्तु: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस्) सत्तायाम्
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/benedictive sense); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पीयूषहरणम्: the taking of nectar
• पीयूषहरणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pīyūṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + haraṇa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √hṛ हरणे)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पीयूषस्य हरणम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; एकवचन; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.); अत्र कर्मरूपेण (as act/object)

• क्षमाः: permissible/forgivable
• क्षमाः: Karta-predicative (विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣamā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; एकवचन; प्रथमा (Nominative); विधेय-विशेषण (predicative adjective)

Speaker

Garuḍa (within Skanda’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-seeking interlocutor within Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Garuḍa, inwardly resolute, prays for right understanding: his devotion to his mother is declared higher than even his allegiance to Śaṅkara; the moment is contemplative, charged with dharma-conflict before the amṛta-episode.

Characters & Entities

• Mother (Vinātā, implied)
• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• Pīyūṣa/Amṛta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Service to parents—especially a mother in distress—is upheld as powerful dharma, capable of invoking the clarity needed for difficult righteous acts.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is within the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s sacred frame but does not itself praise a particular Kāśī tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; it emphasizes dharma as mātṛ-sevā (devoted service to one’s mother).