Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 92

Devanagari script

द्वितीयेह्न्यपि यद्भिक्षा न लभ्येतातियत्नतः । अनिष्टं किंचिदत्रासीन्महागुरुनिपातजम्

Transliteration

dvitīyehnyapi yadbhikṣā na labhyetātiyatnataḥ | aniṣṭaṃ kiṃcidatrāsīnmahāgurunipātajam

Translation

“Nếu đến ngày thứ hai mà vẫn không khất được vật thực, dẫu đã hết sức tìm cầu, thì hẳn nơi đây đã xảy ra một điềm dữ—do sự ngã xuống của một bậc đại sư.”

Word by Word

• dvitīye: on the second
• dvitīye: Kāla-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvitīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन; विशेषण (on the second [day])

• ahni: day
• ahni: Kāla-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (also/even)

• yat: that (if)
• yat: Sambandha (Relative connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम (that which)

• bhikṣā: alms
• bhikṣā: Karta (Subject of passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhikṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• labhyeta: be obtained
• labhyeta: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: labh (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि/भावे (should/might be obtained)

• ati-yatnataḥ: even with great effort
• ati-yatnataḥ: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/source/हेतु-अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ati (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + yatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अति-उपपदपूर्वक; पुल्लिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (अपादान/हेतु), एकवचन; 'अतियत्नतः' = अत्यन्त-यत्नात् (from great effort)

• aniṣṭam: an evil (thing)
• aniṣṭam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aniṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kiṃcit: something
• kiṃcit: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक) + cit (अव्यय-निपात)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अनिश्चितार्थक-सर्वनाम (something)

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (here)

• āsīt: was
• āsīt: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• mahā-guru-nipāta-jam: arising from the fall of the great guru
• mahā-guru-nipāta-jam: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + guru (प्रातिपदिक) + nipāta (प्रातिपदिक) + ja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (निपातात् जं; गुरोः निपातः; महागुरोः निपातः); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (born of the fall of the great teacher)

Speaker

Vyāsa (continuing his reasoning within the narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (frame assumed; not explicit in excerpt)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vyāsa, grave and alert, interprets the second day of failed alms as an ominous sign—hinting at a great elder’s fall—while disciples listen anxiously in a dim āśrama setting.

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• mahāguru (unspecified)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Persistent disruption in dharmic life prompts reflection on deeper causes and communal well-being.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the setting; the narrative tension highlights that unusual hardships in Kāśī invite theological explanation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None stated; it is an interpretive statement about possible inauspicious causes.