Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

रसविक्रयिणं विप्रमिक्षुयंत्रे प्रपीडय । प्रजापीडाकरं भूपमंधकूपे निपातय

Transliteration

rasavikrayiṇaṃ vipramikṣuyaṃtre prapīḍaya | prajāpīḍākaraṃ bhūpamaṃdhakūpe nipātaya

Translation

جو ممنوع ‘رَس’ بیچنے والا برہمن ہے، اسے گنّے کے کولہو میں پیس کر کچلو۔ اور جو بادشاہ رعایا کو ستاتا ہے، اسے اندھکُوپ کے نرک میں گرا دو۔

Word by Word

• rasa-vikrayiṇam: a seller of juice/liquid (rasa)
• rasa-vikrayiṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rasa (प्रातिपदिक) + vikrayin (प्रातिपदिक, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिकः from √krī/√vikrī विक्रय ‘to sell’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः) ‘रसस्य विक्रयी’

• vipram: a Brahmin
• vipram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ikṣu-yaṃtre: in a sugarcane-press (machine)
• ikṣu-yaṃtre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ikṣu (प्रातिपदिक) + yantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः) ‘इक्षोः यन्त्रे’

• prapīḍaya: press/crush (him)
• prapīḍaya: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√pīḍ (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• prajā-pīḍā-karam: one who causes suffering to subjects
• prajā-pīḍā-karam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā (प्रातिपदिक) + pīḍā (प्रातिपदिक) + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (उपपद-तत्पुरुषः) ‘प्रजाः पीडां करोति’

• bhūpam: a king
• bhūpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• andha-kūpe: in a blind/dark well
• andha-kūpe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: andha (प्रातिपदिक) + kūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयसमासः ‘अन्धः कूपः’

• nipātaya: throw down / cause to fall
• nipātaya: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-√pat (धातु) (causative/णिच्: nipātaya-)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa, Skanda → Agastya dialogue context)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Halāyudha (Balarāma)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: Yama’s attendants drag a brāhmaṇa toward a sugarcane press; nearby, a crowned king is hurled into a dark, well-like pit labeled Andhakūpa; Kāśī’s distant ghats and a faint liṅga silhouette remind the viewer of the sacred setting.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Kāśī
• Naraka
• Andhakūpa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is role-sensitive: brāhmaṇas must uphold purity of livelihood, and rulers must protect—not exploit—their people.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the textual setting; this verse emphasizes dharma governance and conduct rather than naming a particular tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; it is a normative teaching on right livelihood and just rule.