Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

एतत्प्रसूतिसमये आमयेन प्रपीडिता । शुकी पंचत्वमापन्ना शुकः श्येनेन भक्षितः

Transliteration

etatprasūtisamaye āmayena prapīḍitā | śukī paṃcatvamāpannā śukaḥ śyenena bhakṣitaḥ

Translation

Ngay vào lúc sinh nở, con vẹt mái bị bệnh hành hạ đã lìa đời; còn vẹt non thì bị chim ưng bắt ăn thịt.

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण (this)

• प्रसूतिसमये: at the time of delivery
• प्रसूतिसमये: Adhikarana (Location/Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रसूति (प्रातिपदिक) + समय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (प्रसूत्या समयः) = ‘at the time of delivery’

• आमयेन: by illness
• आमयेन: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आमय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

• प्रपीडिता: afflicted
• प्रपीडिता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-पीड् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘oppressed/afflicted’

• शुकी: the female parrot (Śukī)
• शुकी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुकी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• पंचत्वम्: death
• पंचत्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्चत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; ‘state of five-ness’ = death

• आपन्ना: attained/reached
• आपन्ना: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√पद् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; अर्थे ‘having reached/attained’ (finite sense)

• शुकः: the male parrot (Śuka)
• शुकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• श्येनेन: by a hawk
• श्येनेन: Karana (Instrument/Agent in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्येन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

• भक्षितः: was devoured
• भक्षितः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भक्ष् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘was eaten/devoured’

Speaker

Narrator (Skanda, in the Kāśī-khaṇḍa narration to Agastya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages at Naimiṣāraṇya (frame typical)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A nest scene at the edge of a sacred grove near Kāśī: a diseased mother-parrot dying in childbirth while a hawk seizes the fledgling; distant ghāṭas and a faint liṅga silhouette suggest the Avimukta presence.

Characters & Entities

• Śukī (female parrot)
• Śuka (parrot)
• Śyena (hawk)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly life is fragile—death can come through disease or violence—preparing the ground for seeking refuge in divine grace and dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The wider setting is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśī-khaṇḍa, though this verse itself describes the incident that leads into Śiva’s intervention rather than naming a specific tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it narrates the calamity that motivates the ensuing divine dialogue.