Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

शुचिष्मत्यपि दुःखार्ता रुरोदातीव दुःसहम् । आर्तस्वरेण हारावैरत्यंत व्याकुलेद्रिया

Transliteration

śuciṣmatyapi duḥkhārtā rurodātīva duḥsaham | ārtasvareṇa hārāvairatyaṃta vyākuledriyā

Translation

حتى شوتشيشمتي، وقد أنهكها الحزن، بكت بكاءً لا يُحتمل. وبصوتٍ مكلوم، وقد اضطربت حواسّها اضطرابًا شديدًا، أخذت تصرخ مرارًا وتكرارًا.

Word by Word

• शुचिष्मति: in/with Śuciṣmatī (the wife named Śuciṣmatī)
• शुचिष्मति: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुचिष्मती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; (name)

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: ‘also/even’)

• दुःखार्ता: afflicted with grief
• दुःखार्ता: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःख-आर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण ‘afflicted by sorrow’

• रुरोद: wept
• रुरोद: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: रुद् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• अति: excessively
• अति: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अति (अव्यय)
• Form: उपसर्ग/अव्यय (preverb/adverb: ‘excessively’)

• इव: as if
• इव: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्यय (comparative particle)

• दुःसहम्: unbearable/unbearably
• दुःसहम्: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुः-सह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (used adverbially: ‘unbearably’)

• आर्तस्वरेण: with a distressed voice
• आर्तस्वरेण: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आर्त-स्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• हारावैः: with wailing cries
• हारावैः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हाराव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; (crying/wailing sounds)

• अत्यन्तम्: exceedingly
• अत्यन्तम्: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्यन्तम् (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण/तीव्रतावाचक-अव्यय (adverb: ‘exceedingly’)

• व्याकुल-इन्द्रिया: with agitated senses
• व्याकुल-इन्द्रिया: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्याकुल-इन्द्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण ‘whose senses are agitated’

Speaker

Narrator (Skanda-to-Agastya context, deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (traditional frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śuciṣmatī’s grief breaks into repeated cries; her hair loosened, ornaments displaced, she weeps with a raw, distressed voice while the household stands stunned.

Characters & Entities

• Śuciṣmatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa mirrors human suffering to teach detachment and the need for spiritual refuge amid life’s uncertainties.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśīkhaṇḍa context is Kāśī, but this verse is not a site-glorification passage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.