Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

उभे ते काशिराजेन परिणीते द्विजोत्तमाः । गृह्योक्तेन विधानेन देवविप्राग्निसंनिधौ

Transliteration

ubhe te kāśirājena pariṇīte dvijottamāḥ | gṛhyoktena vidhānena devaviprāgnisaṃnidhau

Translation

يا أفضلَ ذوي الميلادين، زوّجَ ملكُ كاشي كلتيهما وفقَ الشعائر المعلَّمة في تقاليد الغِرْهْيا (Gṛhya)، بحضرة الآلهة والبراهمة والنار المقدّسة.

Word by Word

• ubhe: both (two women)
• ubhe: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ubhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• te: those two
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• kāśirājena: by the king of Kāśī
• kāśirājena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśirāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• pariṇīte: were married (wedded)
• pariṇīte: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√nī (नी धातु) (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक: भूतकर्मणि/कर्मणि क्त)
• Form: कर्मणि क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; अर्थः ‘विवाहेन नीत’ (married)

• dvijottamāḥ: O best of the twice-born (Brahmins)
• dvijottamāḥ: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘द्विजानाम् उत्तमाः’

• gṛhya-uktena: as stated in the Gṛhya (rites)
• gṛhya-uktena: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gṛhya + ukta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (सन्दर्भे विधानेन सह), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘गृह्येण उक्तेन’

• vidhānena: by the prescribed procedure
• vidhānena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidhāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• deva-vipra-agni-saṃnidhau: in the presence of the gods, Brahmins, and the sacred fire
• deva-vipra-agni-saṃnidhau: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva + vipra + agni + saṃnidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः ‘देवानां विप्राणां अग्नेः च संनिधौ’

Speaker

Sūta

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijottama (addressed interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A royal Vedic wedding: the Kāśirāja presides as patron; the couple circumambulates the sacred fire while brāhmaṇas chant; devas are implied as unseen witnesses above the altar.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Kāśirāja
• Agni
• brāhmaṇas
• devas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is upheld through saṃskāras: marriage is sanctified by śāstric procedure and the witness of Agni, the devas, and the learned.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is referenced through Kāśirāja, linking royal dharma to the wider sacred geography that frames this tīrtha narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Vivāha performed according to Gṛhya-vidhi, with Agni and brāhmaṇas as essential witnesses.