Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

यथा सिंधुगता सिंधुर्न पुनः परिवर्तते । तथाद्य गंत्र्या नो जातु तवागमनमिष्यते

Transliteration

yathā siṃdhugatā siṃdhurna punaḥ parivartate | tathādya gaṃtryā no jātu tavāgamanamiṣyate

Translation

ดุจสายน้ำที่ไหลลงสู่มหาสมุทรแล้วไม่หวนกลับ ฉันใด หากท่านจากไปในวันนี้ การกลับมาของท่านก็จักไม่เป็นที่ยอมรับ (หรือมิได้ถูกลิขิต) ฉันนั้น

Word by Word

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparative particle/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपमान/यथा = ‘as/just as’)

• siṃdhu-gatā: having gone to the sea
• siṃdhu-gatā: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: siṃdhu (प्रातिपदिक) + gata (गम् धातु, क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) ‘सिन्धुगता’ = ‘gone to the sea’

• siṃdhuḥ: the river
• siṃdhuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: siṃdhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/कर्ता), एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध-निपात)

• punaḥ: again
• punaḥ: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (काल/पुनः = ‘again’)

• parivartate: returns
• parivartate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-vṛt (वृत् धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; अर्थः ‘returns/turns back’

• tathā: so; likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Correlative/तथा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (तथा = ‘so/in the same way’)

• adya: today; now
• adya: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक = ‘today/now’)

• gaṃtryā: by the one who is going (you)
• gaṃtryā: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gantṛ (गम् धातु + तृच्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3/करण), एकवचन; कर्तृवाचक-प्रातिपदिक ‘गन्त्री’ = ‘female goer/one who goes’

• naḥ: our
• naḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद् सर्वनाम)
• Form: षष्ठी (6/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम; ‘our’

• jātu: ever
• jātu: Sambandha (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: jātu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (काल/निषेधबलक = ‘ever/at any time’)

• tava: your
• tava: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (युष्मद् सर्वनाम)
• Form: षष्ठी (6/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• āgamanam: coming; return
• āgamanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ā-gamana (गम् धातु से भावप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भाववाचक

• iṣyate: will be accepted/desired
• iṣyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: iṣ (इष् धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; अर्थः ‘is desired/approved/allowed’

Speaker

Śiva (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative context)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience within the frame narration (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A split-scene: foreground dialogue in Kāśī; background symbolic river flowing into a vast ocean, emphasizing the finality of merging.

Characters & Entities

• Devī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Certain choices—especially those made against dharma and devotion—can become spiritually irreversible and lead to lasting separation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the implied sacred landscape; the verse supports the Kāśī-māhātmya theme of staying aligned with Mahādeva’s ordinance.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is stated; the instruction is a warning about the karmic consequence of leaving improperly.