Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

धर्म्यैर्विवाहैर्जायंते धर्म्या एव शतायुषः । अधर्म्यैर्धर्मरहिता मंदभाग्यधनायुषः

Transliteration

dharmyairvivāhairjāyaṃte dharmyā eva śatāyuṣaḥ | adharmyairdharmarahitā maṃdabhāgyadhanāyuṣaḥ

Translation

من الزيجات الموافقة للدَّرْما (dharma) يولد نسلٌ مستقيمٌ في الدَّرْما، طويلُ العمر حتى مئة سنة. ومن الزيجات المخالفة للدَّرْما ينشأ من حُرم الدَّرْما، قليلُ الحظّ والمال والعمر.

Word by Word

• धर्म्यैः: by righteous
• धर्म्यैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; विशेषण (with marriages)

• विवाहैः: by marriages
• विवाहैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विवाह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• जायन्ते: are born
• जायन्ते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान/present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

• धर्म्याः: righteous
• धर्म्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (of persons/offspring implied)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (emphatic: indeed/only)

• शतायुषः: having a hundred-year lifespan
• शतायुषः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक) + आयुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (शतं आयुः यस्य); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• अधर्म्यैः: by unrighteous
• अधर्म्यैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अधर्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; विशेषण (with marriages implied)

• धर्मरहिताः: devoid of dharma
• धर्मरहिताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + रहित (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-निष्पन्न)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (धर्मेण रहित); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• मन्दभाग्यधनायुषः: of poor fortune, wealth, and lifespan
• मन्दभाग्यधनायुषः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मन्द (प्रातिपदिक) + भाग्य (प्रातिपदिक) + धन (प्रातिपदिक) + आयुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमास (मन्दं भाग्यं धनं आयुः येषाम्); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two contrasted family lineages: one luminous household with righteous parents and healthy, long-lived children; the other shadowed household with discord and frailty—an allegory of dharma vs adharma outcomes.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Agastya
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Householder choices shape future generations; dharmic unions are portrayed as a source of longevity and virtue, while adharmic unions yield decline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī frames the discourse as a dharma-teaching landscape, but the verse itself is a general principle rather than a site praise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No single ritual act is prescribed; it states the karmic outcomes of dharmic versus adharmic marriages.