Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 92

Devanagari script

द्वितीयेह्न्यपि यद्भिक्षा न लभ्येतातियत्नतः । अनिष्टं किंचिदत्रासीन्महागुरुनिपातजम्

Transliteration

dvitīyehnyapi yadbhikṣā na labhyetātiyatnataḥ | aniṣṭaṃ kiṃcidatrāsīnmahāgurunipātajam

Translation

“若至第二日仍竭力求乞而不得施食，那么此地必有不祥之事发生——乃因某位大导师的陨落而起。”

Word by Word

• dvitīye: on the second
• dvitīye: Kāla-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvitīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन; विशेषण (on the second [day])

• ahni: day
• ahni: Kāla-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

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

• yat: that (if)
• yat: Sambandha (Relative connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम (that which)

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

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• labhyeta: be obtained
• labhyeta: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: labh (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि/भावे (should/might be obtained)

• ati-yatnataḥ: even with great effort
• ati-yatnataḥ: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/source/हेतु-अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ati (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + yatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अति-उपपदपूर्वक; पुल्लिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (अपादान/हेतु), एकवचन; 'अतियत्नतः' = अत्यन्त-यत्नात् (from great effort)

• aniṣṭam: an evil (thing)
• aniṣṭam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aniṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kiṃcit: something
• kiṃcit: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक) + cit (अव्यय-निपात)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अनिश्चितार्थक-सर्वनाम (something)

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

• āsīt: was
• āsīt: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• mahā-guru-nipāta-jam: arising from the fall of the great guru
• mahā-guru-nipāta-jam: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + guru (प्रातिपदिक) + nipāta (प्रातिपदिक) + ja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (निपातात् जं; गुरोः निपातः; महागुरोः निपातः); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (born of the fall of the great teacher)

Speaker

Vyāsa (continuing his reasoning within the narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

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

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vyāsa, grave and alert, interprets the second day of failed alms as an ominous sign—hinting at a great elder’s fall—while disciples listen anxiously in a dim āśrama setting.

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• mahāguru (unspecified)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Persistent disruption in dharmic life prompts reflection on deeper causes and communal well-being.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the setting; the narrative tension highlights that unusual hardships in Kāśī invite theological explanation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None stated; it is an interpretive statement about possible inauspicious causes.