Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

गृहस्थः स हि विज्ञेयो यस्य गेहे पतिव्रता । ग्रसतेऽन्या प्रतिपदं राक्षस्या जरयाथवा

Transliteration

gṛhasthaḥ sa hi vijñeyo yasya gehe pativratā | grasate'nyā pratipadaṃ rākṣasyā jarayāthavā

Translation

لا يُعرَف ربُّ البيت حقًّا إلا من كانت في داره زوجةٌ باتيفراتا (pativratā). وإلا فإن أخرى، يومًا بعد يوم—كراكشَسِي (rākṣasī) في هيئة الوَهَن والهرم—تلتهم البيت.

Word by Word

• गृहस्थः: householder
• गृहस्थः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृहस्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• सः: he/that (person)
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• हि: indeed/for
• हि: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपातार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अव्यय

• विज्ञेयः: to be known/recognized
• विज्ञेयः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + ज्ञा (धातु) → विज्ञेय (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, तव्यत्/यत्-प्रत्ययार्थः)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (predicative adjective)

• यस्य: whose/of whom
• यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (of whom)

• गेहे: in the house
• गेहे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• पतिव्रता: a devoted wife (faithful to her husband)
• पतिव्रता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति + व्रत (प्रातिपदिक); पतिव्रता (स्त्रीलिङ्ग-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पतेः व्रतम् यस्याः सा)

• ग्रसते: devours/consumes
• ग्रसते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• अन्या: another (woman)
• अन्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्रतिपदम्: at every step/each day
• प्रतिपदम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रतिपद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावार्थे अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः; क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial accusative)

• राक्षस्या: by a demoness
• राक्षस्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• जरया: by old age
• जरया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अथवा: or
• अथवा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथवा (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Kāśī household courtyard: a devoted wife maintaining lamp and pūjā while a shadowy, skeletal rākṣasī-like figure of Jarā (decay) lurks at the threshold, symbolizing daily erosion when dharma is absent.

Characters & Entities

• Gṛhastha
• Pativratā
• Rākṣasī
• Jarā (decay/old age)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A household is truly dharmic only when grounded in virtue; without it, decline consumes life gradually.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching occurs within Kāśī-khaṇḍa’s sacred narrative frame, not tied to a single named tirtha in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse uses moral instruction and metaphor rather than a stated rite.