Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

धर्मस्तु रक्षितः सर्वैरपिदेहव्ययेन च । शिबिप्रभृतिभूपालैर्दधीचिप्रमुखैर्द्विजैः

Transliteration

dharmastu rakṣitaḥ sarvairapidehavyayena ca | śibiprabhṛtibhūpālairdadhīcipramukhairdvijaiḥ

Translation

Ngunit ang Dharma ay ipinagtanggol ng lahat, kahit kapalit ang pagkapawi ng katawan—ng mga haring tulad ni Śibi at ng mga brāhmaṇa tulad ni Dadhīci.

Word by Word

• dharmaḥ: dharma
• dharmaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tu: but, however
• tu: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (contrastive particle)

• rakṣitaḥ: was protected
• rakṣitaḥ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: rakṣ (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि ‘was protected’

• sarvaiḥ: by all
• sarvaiḥ: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• api: even
• api: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-निपात (additive/concessive)

• deha-vyayena: by the loss of the body (at the cost of one’s body)
• deha-vyayena: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deha (प्रातिपदिक) + vyaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (dehasya vyayaḥ); पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• śibi-prabhṛti-bhūpālaiḥ: by kings beginning with Śibi
• śibi-prabhṛti-bhūpālaiḥ: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śibi (प्रातिपदिक) + prabhṛti (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + bhūpāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (śibi-prabhṛtayaḥ bhūpālāḥ); पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• dadhīci-pramukhaiḥ: by sages beginning with Dadhīci
• dadhīci-pramukhaiḥ: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dadhīci (प्रातिपदिक) + pramukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (dadhīci-pramukhāḥ); पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• dvijaiḥ: by brāhmaṇas (twice-born)
• dvijaiḥ: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśī-khaṇḍa norm: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two emblematic tableaux: King Śibi offering his own flesh to save a dove from a hawk; Sage Dadhīci offering his bones for the devas’ weapon—both framed as luminous dharma-protection, with Kāśī’s sanctified ambience as the moral stage.

Characters & Entities

• Dharma
• Śibi
• Dadhīci
• Dvija

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True Dharma may demand self-sacrifice; the highest exemplars protect it even by giving up the body.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse supports the Kāśī Mahātmya’s message that Dharma—especially nurtured by Kāśī-sevā—is the supreme aim worth any cost.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; it praises the virtue of Dharma-rakṣaṇa (upholding Dharma) as the core practice.