Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

कन्यारूपधराकाचिद्याभुक्ता केनचित्क्वचित् । देवरूपेण तं कालमारभ्य ब्रह्मचारिणी

Transliteration

kanyārūpadharākācidyābhuktā kenacitkvacit | devarūpeṇa taṃ kālamārabhya brahmacāriṇī

Translation

كانت هناك امرأة اتخذت هيئة عذراء، فاستمتع بها أحدٌ في مكانٍ ما مرةً؛ ومنذ ذلك الحين—لأن الأمر وقع في هيئةٍ إلهية—عاشت براهماتشاريني، محافظةً على العفّة.

Word by Word

• कन्यारूपधरा: bearing the form of a maiden
• कन्यारूपधरा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कन्यारूप (प्रातिपदिक) + धर (कृदन्त; √धृ धारणे)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक 'धर' — Feminine, Nominative singular

• काचित्: some (woman)
• काचित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — Feminine, Nominative singular (indefinite pronoun)

• या: who
• या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — Feminine, Nominative singular (relative pronoun)

• भुक्ता: was enjoyed/consumed (i.e., sexually used)
• भुक्ता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भुज् (भुज पालन/भोगे)
• Form: कृदन्त: क्त (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — PPP, Feminine, Nominative singular

• केनचित्: by someone
• केनचित्: Karana (Instrument/Agent in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; अनिश्चित-प्रयोग — Instrumental singular: 'by someone'

• क्वचित्: somewhere/sometime
• क्वचित्: Adhikarana (Circumstance/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: at some time/place)

• देवरूपेण: in the form of a god
• देवरूपेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवरूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन — Neuter, Instrumental singular; समास: देव + रूप

• तम्: that
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — Masculine, Accusative singular

• कालम्: time/period
• कालम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — Masculine, Accusative singular

• आरभ्य: starting from
• आरभ्य: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √रभ् (रभ् आरम्भे)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund) — having begun/starting from

• ब्रह्मचारिणी: a celibate woman; one observing brahmacarya
• ब्रह्मचारिणी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मचारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — Feminine, Nominative singular

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvija interlocutor addressed in nearby verses (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A maiden-form apsaras sits apart in contemplative austerity, ornaments subdued, gaze lowered; the background hints at Kāśī’s sacred riverfront, suggesting a shift from pleasure to restraint.

Characters & Entities

• Deva (devarūpa)
• Kanyā-rūpa (maiden-form)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Past experiences can become a turning point toward dharmic restraint; brahmacarya is shown as a deliberate vow taken after a decisive event.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is within Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī-māhātmya setting, but no distinct tīrtha is named in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The practice implied is brahmacarya (continence), treated as a sustained vow rather than a one-time ritual.