Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

सदा मदं परित्यज्य प्रमादैकपदप्रदम् । प्रमादैकशरण्यं च संपदां विनिवर्तकम्

Transliteration

sadā madaṃ parityajya pramādaikapadapradam | pramādaikaśaraṇyaṃ ca saṃpadāṃ vinivartakam

Translation

Hãy luôn từ bỏ kiêu mạn và men say tự ngã; vì phóng dật chính là cánh cửa duy nhất dẫn đến sa đọa. Nó là chỗ nương duy nhất của diệt vong và là sức lực khiến phú quý quay trở lại thành tổn thất.

Word by Word

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण) — indeclinable adverb of time

• मदम्: pride, intoxication
• मदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• परित्यज्य: having abandoned
• परित्यज्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Converb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययकृदन्त), ‘having abandoned’; परस्मैपदी — Gerund (absolutive) from √त्यज् with उपसर्ग परि

• प्रमाद-एक-पद-प्रदम्: that which gives a single step/footing to negligence
• प्रमाद-एक-पद-प्रदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रमाद (प्रातिपदिक) + एक (संख्याशब्द-प्रातिपदिक) + पद (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular; समासः: तत्पुरुष (निर्देश/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषभावः) ‘प्रमादस्य एकं पदं प्रददाति इति’

• प्रमाद-एक-शरण्यम्: having negligence as its sole refuge
• प्रमाद-एक-शरण्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रमाद (प्रातिपदिक) + एक (प्रातिपदिक) + शरण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular; समासः: तत्पुरुष ‘प्रमाद एव शरणं यस्य/यत्र’ (एक-शरण्य = having only one refuge)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक) — conjunction

• संपदाम्: of prosperities/fortunes
• संपदाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संपद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Feminine, Genitive (6th), Plural

• विनिवर्तकम्: that which drives away/turns back
• विनिवर्तकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-नि-वृत् (धातु) + क (प्रत्यय)
• Form: ण्वुल्/क-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (कर्तरि/हेतौ), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — agentive/causative-noun ‘that which turns back’; Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A dvija/śiṣya figure addressed in the passage’s didactic frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim in Kāśī stands at a ghat at dawn, pouring out a symbolic vessel labeled ‘mada’ into the Gaṅgā, while a shadow-figure ‘pramāda’ lurks behind; the rising sun signifies regained vigilance.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pride breeds heedlessness, and heedlessness reverses fortune; vigilance and humility protect dharma and well-being.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is ethical instruction within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa; the broader chapter culminates in the greatness of Kāśī, though this line itself is not naming a tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; it gives a moral discipline: renouncing mada (pride) and pramāda (heedlessness).