Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

प्रत्यब्दमश्वमेधेन शतं वर्षाणि यो यजेत् । अमांसभक्षको यश्च तयोरंत्यो विशिष्यते

Transliteration

pratyabdamaśvamedhena śataṃ varṣāṇi yo yajet | amāṃsabhakṣako yaśca tayoraṃtyo viśiṣyate

Translation

纵使有人年年行马祭（Aśvamedha），连作百年；二者之中，不食肉者更为殊胜。

Word by Word

• प्रति: each, per
• प्रति: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण-भाव)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रति (अव्यय)
• Form: उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद-प्रयोगः (preverb/particle), अर्थः ‘प्रति/प्रत्येकम्’

• अब्दम्: year
• अब्दम्: Adhikarana (Temporal extent/कालाधिकरण-भाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अब्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• अश्वमेधेन: by the Aśvamedha sacrifice
• अश्वमेधेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वमेध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; समासः अश्व + मेध (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/निर्देश-तत्पुरुष)

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक

• वर्षाणि: years
• वर्षाणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सूचक (relative pronoun)

• यजेत्: should perform sacrifice
• यजेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: यज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• अमांसभक्षकः: one who does not eat meat
• अमांसभक्षकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अ + मांस + भक्षक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; नञ्-तत्पुरुषः (अमांस = मांसाभावः) + तत्पुरुषः (अमांसस्य भक्षकः)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सूचक

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• तयोः: of the two
• तयोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), द्विवचन; ‘of those two’

• अन्त्यः: the latter
• अन्त्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण

• विशिष्यते: is superior/excels
• विशिष्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विशिष् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contrast tableau: on one side a royal Aśvamedha with priests, horse, and sacrificial pavilion; on the other a serene ascetic/householder offering grains and water, hands in compassion, with Kāśī’s ghāṭs and Viśvanātha spire in the background—signifying inner purity surpassing spectacle.

Characters & Entities

• Aśvamedha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ahiṃsā expressed through restraint can outweigh even grand ritual merit; inner ethics surpass external grandeur.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse appears in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa (Kāśī setting) but does not directly praise a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It references Aśvamedha as a benchmark and implicitly commends abstaining from meat as a superior dharmic practice.