Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

यत्र यस्य हि यद्भाव्यं शुभं वाऽशुभमेव च । आकृष्यभाविनी रज्जुस्तत्र तस्य हि दापयेत

Transliteration

yatra yasya hi yadbhāvyaṃ śubhaṃ vā'śubhameva ca | ākṛṣyabhāvinī rajjustatra tasya hi dāpayeta

Translation

Điều gì đã định cho ai—cát tường hay bất tường—thì người ấy bị kéo về đúng nơi ấy, như thể có sợi dây vô hình lôi cuốn.

Word by Word

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्ध-प्रश्न/यद्-तद्-सम्बन्धे देशवाचक (relative adverb)

• yasya: of whom
• yasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• yat: whatever
• yat: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम

• bhāvyam: destiny / what is to happen
• bhāvyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū (धातु) + yat (कृत्य-प्रत्यय; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कृत्य (what is to be / destined)

• śubham: auspicious
• śubham: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (or)

• aśubham: inauspicious
• aśubham: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; नञ्-युक्त विशेषण

• eva: certainly
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण-निपात (emphatic)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक

• ākṛṣya-bhāvinī: (like) a rope that will pull/draw (one)
• ākṛṣya-bhāvinī: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā + kṛṣ (धातु) + lyap (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय; अव्ययभाव) + bhāvinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव-समास (ākṛṣya = having drawn/pulled) + भा-विन् (about to be)

• rajjuḥ: rope
• rajjuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rajju (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (there)

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• dāpayet: should cause (it) to be given / should make (one) give
• dāpayet: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धातु) + ṇic (णिच् causative)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; णिजन्त (causative: ‘cause to give’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa typically Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (implicit as auspicious destination)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A subtle luminous rope extends from an unseen hand of Destiny to a human heart, gently but irresistibly drawing the person toward a distant city of temples (Kāśī) on the horizon; along the path appear both bright and shadowed scenes symbolizing auspicious/inauspicious outcomes.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Destiny shaped by karma can draw beings toward their experiences; wisdom lies in meeting outcomes with dharma and restraint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned in this verse; it provides a universal teaching within the Kāśī Khaṇḍa discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse uses a metaphor (a pulling rope) to explain inevitability of destined results.