Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

अराजके समुत्पन्ने लोकेऽत्याहितशंसिनि । प्रयत्नो विफलस्त्वासीत्सृष्टेः सृष्टिकृतस्तदा

Transliteration

arājake samutpanne loke'tyāhitaśaṃsini | prayatno viphalastvāsītsṛṣṭeḥ sṛṣṭikṛtastadā

Translation

当世间生起无王无治之境，带来极重的祸害之时，造物主为维系造化所作的努力，便都归于徒然。

Word by Word

• arājake: in a kingless (state)
• arājake: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- + rājaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• samutpanne: having arisen/occurred
• samutpanne: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam + ut + pad (धातु) + ta (क्त, कृत्प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• loke: in the world
• loke: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• atyāhitaśaṃsini: (in a world) proclaiming great harm/evil
• atyāhitaśaṃsini: Adhikarana (Qualifier in locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati + āhita + śaṃsin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• prayatnaḥ: effort
• prayatnaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prayatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• viphalaḥ: fruitless
• viphalaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi + phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• tu: but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/contrast)

• āsīt: was
• āsīt: Kriya (Copula/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद (Parasmaipada)

• sṛṣṭeḥ: of creation
• sṛṣṭeḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• sṛṣṭikṛtaḥ: the creator of creation
• sṛṣṭikṛtaḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sṛṣṭi + kṛt (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

Speaker

Skanda

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic tableau: the world without a king—fires unkept, fields untended, people in fear; above, Brahmā appears troubled as order unravels.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Brahmā (Sṛṣṭikṛt)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Rājadharma (just governance) is presented as a pillar of worldly stability; without it, even cosmic design cannot easily flourish.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific site is named; the verse sets the moral-political collapse that motivates divine recourse, later tied to Kāśī’s sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the focus is on governance and the collapse of social order.