Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

यतः क्रतुभुजो देवाः क्रतवो वेदसंभवाः । ते वेदा ब्राह्मणाधीनास्ततो देवबलं द्विजाः

Transliteration

yataḥ kratubhujo devāḥ kratavo vedasaṃbhavāḥ | te vedā brāhmaṇādhīnāstato devabalaṃ dvijāḥ

Translation

เพราะเหล่าเทวะเสวยผลแห่งยัญพิธี; ยัญพิธีบังเกิดจากพระเวท; และพระเวทนั้นขึ้นอยู่กับพราหมณ์; ฉะนั้น โอ้ทวิชะ ผู้เกิดสองครั้ง กำลังของเทวะทั้งหลายย่อมตั้งอยู่ที่พราหมณ์

Word by Word

• यतः: since/because
• यतः: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यतः (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्ध/हेतुवाचक अव्यय (conj. adverb: since/from which)

• क्रतु-भुजः: eaters/partakers of sacrifices
• क्रतु-भुजः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (of देवाः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रतु (प्रातिपदिक) + भुज् (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √भुज्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष: 'क्रतून् भुञ्जते ये' (those who partake of sacrifices)

• देवाः: the gods
• देवाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• क्रतवः: sacrifices
• क्रतवः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रतु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• वेद-सम्भवाः: born from the Veda
• वेद-सम्भवाः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वेद (प्रातिपदिक) + सम्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; पञ्चमी/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थ: 'वेदात् सम्भवाः/वेदस्य सम्भवाः' (arising from the Veda); विशेषण (of क्रतवः)

• ते: those
• ते: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• वेदाः: Vedas
• वेदाः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (of ते)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ब्राह्मण-अधीनाः: dependent on Brahmins
• ब्राह्मण-अधीनाः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक) + अधीन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'ब्राह्मणानाम् अधीनाः' (dependent on Brahmins); विशेषण (of वेदाः)

• ततः: therefore
• ततः: Hetu/Anvaya (हेतु/अन्वय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb): 'therefore/from that'

• देव-बलम्: the gods’ power
• देव-बलम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + बल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'देवानां बलम्'

• द्विजाः: Brahmins (twice-born)
• द्विजाः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (predicate of देवबलम्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda (narration to Agastya, inferred)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (implicit frame)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (frame assumed; not explicit in verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic ‘ladder of sustenance’: devas receiving offerings from a blazing yajña; the yajña arising from radiant Vedic mantras; the Vedas resting in the hands/heart of serene brāhmaṇas—forming a luminous chain.

Characters & Entities

• Devas
• Yajña (Kratu)
• Vedas
• Brāhmaṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is an interlinked system: Veda supports yajña, yajña sustains Devas, and Brāhmaṇas preserve Veda—so protecting sacred learning protects the world.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named; the teaching aligns with Kāśī’s identity as a foremost seat of Vedic-Śaiva Dharma in the Skanda Purana.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, the maintenance of yajñas (sacrifices) and Vedic continuity is upheld as essential, though no specific rite is prescribed.