Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 91

Devanagari script

भवद्भिरपि नो भिक्षा परिप्राप्तेति गम्यते । किमत्र पुरि संवृत्तं द्वित्रा यात ममाज्ञया

Transliteration

bhavadbhirapi no bhikṣā pariprāpteti gamyate | kimatra puri saṃvṛttaṃ dvitrā yāta mamājñayā

Translation

“看来你们也未得施食。这城中究竟发生了什么？奉我之命，你们中两三人前去探问明白。”

Word by Word

• bhavadbhiḥ: by you (respected ones)
• bhavadbhiḥ: Karana (Agent/instrument in passive sense/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण/सह), बहुवचन; आदरार्थक-सर्वनाम

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

• naḥ: of us, our
• naḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; अस्मद्-प्रत्यय (enclitic)

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

• pariprāptā: obtained
• pariprāptā: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pari-prāp (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (fully obtained)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative)

• gamyate: is understood
• gamyate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि (is understood/known)

• kim: what
• kim: Karma (Interrogative object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्न-सर्वनाम

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

• puri: in the city
• puri: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• saṃvṛttam: happened, occurred
• saṃvṛttam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sam-vṛt (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भाववाचक (what has happened)

• dvi-trā: for two (days)
• dvi-trā: Kāla-adhikarana (Time span/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dvi (संख्या) + trā (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: संख्यावाचक-अव्यय (for two/for a couple [of days])

• yāta: go
• yāta: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• ājñayā: by (my) command
• ājñayā: Karana (Instrument: by order/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ājñā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन

Speaker

Vyāsa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

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

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vyāsa gestures decisively as two or three disciples set out into Kāśī’s streets, moving toward marketplaces and ghāṭas to learn why alms have stopped.

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• disciples
• Kāśī (puri)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Leadership in dharma includes careful inquiry and responsibility toward one’s community.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī/Vārāṇasī is the city in question, central to the Kāśī-māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; the verse narrates a practical step—sending disciples to learn the cause.