Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

हरेत्पुरंध्रीः प्रसभं पौराणां काममोहितः । असाधवः प्रियास्तस्य साधवोऽप्रियतां ययुः

Transliteration

haretpuraṃdhrīḥ prasabhaṃ paurāṇāṃ kāmamohitaḥ | asādhavaḥ priyāstasya sādhavo'priyatāṃ yayuḥ

Translation

ด้วยความหลงใหลในกาม เขาได้ฉุดคร่าหญิงของชาวเมืองโดยบังคับ คนอธรรมกลับเป็นที่รักของเขา ส่วนคนธรรมะและผู้ประพฤติดีกลับตกเป็นที่ชัง

Word by Word

• haret: would abduct/used to seize
• haret: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √hṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्/लोट्-सम्भाव्य (context: habitual/optative sense); परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• puraṃdhrīḥ: women
• puraṃdhrīḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puraṃdhrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन

• prasabham: forcibly
• prasabham: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prasabham (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: forcibly)

• paurāṇām: of the townsmen/citizens
• paurāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• kāma-mohitaḥ: deluded by desire
• kāma-mohitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक) + mohita (√muh क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः (kāmena mohitaḥ)

• asādhavaḥ: the wicked (people)
• asādhavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a- (नञ्) + sādhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• priyāḥ: dear, favored
• priyāḥ: Karta (Predicate/समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (predicate adjective)

• tasya: to him/of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• sādhavaḥ: the good (people)
• sādhavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sādhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• apriyatām: to a state of being disliked
• apriyatām: Gati/Karma (Result state/फल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a- (नञ्) + priyatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; भाववाचक (state of being disliked)

• yayuḥ: went, came to
• yayuḥ: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Muni

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dark courtly episode: the king’s men abduct townspeople’s women; citizens plead; sādhus stand aside in sorrow while corrupt companions smile—visualizing the inversion of dharma.

Characters & Entities

• Durdama (implied)
• citizens (paurāḥ)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāma-moha overturns dharma: it leads to violence, social harm, and the inversion where the wicked are favored over the good.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None directly; the verse functions as ethical instruction within the Kāśī narrative context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a condemnation of adharma, implicitly urging restraint and protection of subjects.