Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

जपं होमं व्रतं दानं स्वाध्यायं पितृतर्पणम् । कुर्वाणोथाश्रमभ्रष्टो नासौ तत्फलमाप्नुयात्

Transliteration

japaṃ homaṃ vrataṃ dānaṃ svādhyāyaṃ pitṛtarpaṇam | kurvāṇothāśramabhraṣṭo nāsau tatphalamāpnuyāt

Translation

اگر کوئی جپ، ہوم، ورت، دان، سوادھیائے اور پتر ترپن بھی کرتا رہے—لیکن اگر وہ اپنے آشرم سے بھٹک گیا ہو تو ان اعمال کا درست پھل نہیں پاتا۔

Word by Word

• japam: recitation
• japam: Karma (Object/कर्म) (of kurvāṇaḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: japa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• homam: fire-offering
• homam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: homa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• vratam: vow
• vratam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vrata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• dānam: gift/charity
• dānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• svādhyāyam: self-study/recitation of Veda
• svādhyāyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svādhyāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• pitṛ-tarpaṇam: offering to ancestors
• pitṛ-tarpaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + tarpaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पितॄणां तर्पणम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• kurvāṇaḥ: doing/performing
• kurvāṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु) + śatṛ (शतृ)
• Form: कृदन्त (शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमान कृदन्त), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; present active participle

• atha: then
• atha: Discourse particle (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/सम्बोधनार्थक (then/now)

• āśrama-bhraṣṭaḥ: fallen from (proper) āśrama
• āśrama-bhraṣṭaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (apposition)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: āśrama (प्रातिपदिक) + bhraṣṭa (√bhraṃś + kta)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (आश्रमात् भ्रष्टः), कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय

• asau: that person/he
• asau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asau (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• tat-phalam: that result
• tat-phalam: Karma (Object/कर्म) (of āpnuyāt)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष (तत् फलम् = that fruit/result), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• āpnuyāt: would obtain/should obtain
• āpnuyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Agastya
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Rituals gain power through right order and rightful living; dharma is the vessel that makes spiritual practice fruitful.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśī setting implies that even in the holiest place, practice must be grounded in dharmic discipline to bear full merit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It lists key rites (japa, homa, vrata, dāna, svādhyāya, pitṛtarpaṇa) and states their fruits are lost if one is āśrama-bhraṣṭa.