Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

बिल्वपालाशयोर्दंडो ब्राह्मणस्य नृपस्य तु । न्यग्रोधबालदलयोः पीलूदुंबरयोर्विशः

Transliteration

bilvapālāśayordaṃḍo brāhmaṇasya nṛpasya tu | nyagrodhabāladalayoḥ pīlūduṃbarayorviśaḥ

Translation

婆罗门的杖（daṇḍa）应取自毕罗树（bilva）或帕拉沙树（palāśa）；国王、刹帝利的杖取自榕树（nyagrodha）或bāladala；吠舍的杖取自pīlū或优昙婆罗（udumbara）。

Word by Word

• बिल्वपालाशयोः: of bilva and palāśa (woods/trees)
• बिल्वपालाशयोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बिल्व (प्रातिपदिक) + पलाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), द्विवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्वः (genitive dual)

• दण्डः: staff
• दण्डः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• ब्राह्मणस्य: of a brāhmaṇa
• ब्राह्मणस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• नृपस्य: of a king (kṣatriya)
• नृपस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Discourse particle (सम्बन्धसूचक/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थे ‘but/indeed’

• न्यग्रोधबालदलयोः: of nyagrodha and bāladala (woods/trees)
• न्यग्रोधबालदलयोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: न्यग्रोध (प्रातिपदिक) + बालदल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), द्विवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्वः

• पीलूदुंबरयोः: of pīlu and udumbara (woods/trees)
• पीलूदुंबरयोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पीलु (प्रातिपदिक) + उदुम्बर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), द्विवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्वः

• विशः: of a vaiśya
• विशः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; ‘viś’ = vaiśya

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-oriented audience/seekers in Kāśī narrative frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A young brahmacārī in Kāśī receives or selects a staff made from sacred wood; the staff types are shown as distinct trees (bilva, palāśa, nyagrodha, udumbara) with the ghāṭs and temples of Kāśī in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Agastya
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is practiced through disciplined symbols and conduct; even the student’s staff is chosen according to prescribed order and identity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction is situated in Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, presenting dharma as lived practice in the sacred city.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse prescribes the proper wood types for the brahmacārī’s daṇḍa according to varṇa.