Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

कृत्वापि सर्वसंन्यासं कृत्वा पाशुपतव्रतम् । नियमेभ्यः स्खलित्वापि कुतो बिभ्यति मानवाः

Transliteration

kṛtvāpi sarvasaṃnyāsaṃ kṛtvā pāśupatavratam | niyamebhyaḥ skhalitvāpi kuto bibhyati mānavāḥ

Translation

Kahit naisagawa na ang ganap na pagtalikod, kahit natanggap na ang panatang Pāśupata—kahit madulas sa mga tuntunin at pagpipigil—bakit pa matatakot ang mga tao (kung may ganitong kanlungan)?

Word by Word

• कृत्वा: having done
• कृत्वा: Purvakala (Absolutive/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund: having done)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्यय (particle: even/also)

• सर्वसंन्यासम्: complete renunciation
• सर्वसंन्यासम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + संन्यास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (सर्वः संन्यासः)

• कृत्वा: having done
• कृत्वा: Purvakala (Absolutive/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (absolutive)

• पाशुपतव्रतम्: the Pāśupata vow
• पाशुपतव्रतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाशुपत + व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (पाशुपतस्य व्रतम्)

• नियमेभ्यः: from the disciplines/observances
• नियमेभ्यः: Apadana (Ablative source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नियम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), बहुवचन

• स्खलित्वा: having faltered
• स्खलित्वा: Purvakala (Absolutive/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्खल् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (absolutive: having slipped/failed)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (even/also)

• कुतः: how/whence
• कुतः: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कुतः (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्न-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: whence/how)

• बिभ्यति: fears
• बिभ्यति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भी (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• मानवाः: people/humans
• मानवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī Śiva-liṅga refuge (Trilocana/mahāliṅga context)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages/pilgrims (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A renunciant with staff and waterpot stands anxious after a lapse; before the liṅga, fear dissolves as a calm radiance surrounds the shrine, suggesting Śiva’s protective refuge.

Characters & Entities

• Pāśupata Vrata
• Saṃnyāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine refuge and grace can overcome human lapses; fear diminishes when devotion is anchored in Śiva’s saving presence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Implicitly Kāśī’s Śaiva refuge (context: Trilocana/Mahāliṅga in Kāśīkhaṇḍa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Saṃnyāsa (renunciation) and the Pāśupata-vrata are referenced as disciplines, alongside the reality of possible lapses.