Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

गुरुशुश्रूषणं धर्म एको हि ब्रह्मचारिणाम् । अनिष्पाद्य तु तद्वाक्यं कथं मे निष्कृतिर्भवेत्

Transliteration

guruśuśrūṣaṇaṃ dharma eko hi brahmacāriṇām | aniṣpādya tu tadvākyaṃ kathaṃ me niṣkṛtirbhavet

Translation

برہماچاریوں کے لیے گرو کی خدمت ہی واحد مرکزی دھرم ہے۔ اگر میں اُن کے حکم کو پورا نہ کروں تو میرے لیے کفّارہ کیسے ہوگا؟

Word by Word

• गुरुशुश्रूषणम्: service/obedient attendance to the guru
• गुरुशुश्रूषणम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु + शुश्रूषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (गुरोः शुश्रूषणम्)

• धर्मः: duty; dharma
• धर्मः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• एकः: one; single
• एकः: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (धर्मः)

• हि: indeed; for
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• ब्रह्मचारिणाम्: of brahmacārins (students)
• ब्रह्मचारिणाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मचारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• अनिष्पाद्य: without accomplishing
• अनिष्पाद्य: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + √पद् (धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund) नकार-निषेधयुक्त; अर्थः—‘असम्पाद्य/अकृत्वा’

• तु: but; however
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (contrastive particle)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (वाक्यम्)

• वाक्यम्: command; statement
• वाक्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• कथम्: how?
• कथम्: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• मे: my; for me
• मे: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; एन्क्लिटिक रूप

• निष्कृतिः: expiation; deliverance
• निष्कृतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निष्कृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• भवेत्: would be; may occur
• भवेत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A seeker/śiṣya figure within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa dialogue frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A young brahmacārin, hands folded, reflects anxiously on the guru’s command, with a forest hermitage backdrop and a distant suggestion of Kāśī’s ghāṭas as the spiritual goal.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Guru
• Brahmacārin

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Student-life is anchored in guru-service; neglecting the guru’s word undermines one’s spiritual standing and blocks expiation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the larger sacred frame, but the verse is a dharma-teaching rather than a tīrtha-glorification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It implies prāyaścitta (atonement) conceptually, but no specific rite is prescribed here.