Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

ऊनविंशतिकोऽसि त्वमेषा षोडशवार्षिकी । तव पत्नी गुणनिधे साध्वी मधुरभाषिणी

Transliteration

ūnaviṃśatiko'si tvameṣā ṣoḍaśavārṣikī | tava patnī guṇanidhe sādhvī madhurabhāṣiṇī

Translation

Du bist noch nicht zwanzig, und sie ist sechzehn Jahre alt. Deine Gattin, o Schatz der Tugenden, ist eine sādhvī: keusch und von süßer Rede.

Word by Word

• ऊनविंशतिकः: nineteen-year-old (lit. ‘one less than twenty’)
• ऊनविंशतिकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ऊन (प्रातिपदिक) + विंशति (प्रातिपदिक) + क (तद्धित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (age-descriptor)

• असि: you are
• असि: Kriya (Predicate action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• एषा: this (woman)
• एषा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• षोडशवार्षिकी: sixteen-year-old
• षोडशवार्षिकी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षोडश (प्रातिपदिक) + वार्षिक (प्रातिपदिक) + ई (स्त्री-प्रत्यय)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying ‘एषा’)

• तव: your
• तव: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पत्नी: wife
• पत्नी: Pradhāna (Predicate-noun/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्नी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• गुणनिधे: O treasure of virtues
• गुणनिधे: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुण (प्रातिपदिक) + निधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• साध्वी: virtuous
• साध्वी: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: साध्वी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying ‘पत्नी’)

• मधुरभाषिणी: sweet-speaking
• मधुरभाषिणी: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मधुर (प्रातिपदिक) + भाषिन् (प्रातिपदिक) + ई (स्त्री-प्रत्यय)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context) narrating to Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: young householder (addressed as guṇa-nidhi)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A young couple in a modest Kāśī home near the ghats: the husband attentive, the wife composed and gentle, offering water or flowers; the elder’s words hover as blessing.

Characters & Entities

• wife

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Householder harmony rests on virtue, restraint, and gentle speech, not merely age or status.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśīkhaṇḍa context is Kāśī, presenting dharmic household ideals within Kāśī’s sacred-cultural frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it offers ethical appraisal and counsel regarding married life.