Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

कृतोपनयनः सोथ विद्यां जग्राह भूरिशः । अथ पित्रानभिज्ञातो द्यूतकर्मरतोऽभवत्

Transliteration

kṛtopanayanaḥ sotha vidyāṃ jagrāha bhūriśaḥ | atha pitrānabhijñāto dyūtakarmarato'bhavat

Translation

他既行受线礼（upanayana），便广学诸艺；然而后来——瞒着父亲——却沉迷于赌博之业。

Word by Word

• कृत-उपनयनः: whose upanayana was performed
• कृत-उपनयनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत (कृदन्त; √कृ धातु) + उपनयन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (Past participle), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरबोधक-अव्यय (particle/adverb: then)

• विद्याम्: knowledge
• विद्याम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विद्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• जग्राह: took up, learned
• जग्राह: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• भूरिशः: greatly, much
• भूरिशः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भूरिश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावप्राय-क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial use: greatly/abundantly)

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरबोधक-अव्यय (particle: then/thereafter)

• पित्रा: by (his) father
• पित्रा: Karana (Instrument/Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• अनभिज्ञातः: not recognized/unknown
• अनभिज्ञातः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनभिज्ञात (कृदन्त; √ज्ञा धातु, नञ्-पूर्वक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (Past participle), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• द्यूत-कर्म-रतः: devoted to gambling activity
• द्यूत-कर्म-रतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्यूत (प्रातिपदिक) + कर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• अभवत्: became
• अभवत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A young man with sacred thread and learning, turning away from study toward a dice game in a shadowed corner; contrast between bright study space and darker gambling scene.

Characters & Entities

• Upanayana
• Guṇanidhi

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Rites and learning alone are not enough—secret indulgence in vice like gambling erodes dharma from within.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None in this verse; it functions as an ethical turning-point within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa story.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Upanayana is referenced as the formative rite that implies a life of discipline, which the character later violates.