Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

सदा नारायणो देवो यस्याश्चक्रे कथां मुदा । कमलायाः पुरोभागे पातिव्रत्य सुतोषितः

Transliteration

sadā nārāyaṇo devo yasyāścakre kathāṃ mudā | kamalāyāḥ purobhāge pātivratya sutoṣitaḥ

Translation

Nārāyaṇa selbst, der Gott, der stets zufrieden ist, sprach freudig von ihr — vor Kamalā (Lakṣmī) am Ehrenplatz — ganz beglückt über ihre pātivratya.

Word by Word

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverb of time)

• nārāyaṇaḥ: Nārāyaṇa
• nārāyaṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• devaḥ: the god
• devaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन; विशेष्य (appositive to nārāyaṇaḥ)

• yasyāḥ: of whom/whose
• yasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive); एकवचन

• cakre: made/did
• cakre: Kriyā (Predicate action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect); प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person); एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• kathām: a story/discourse
• kathām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kathā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन

• mudā: with joy
• mudā: Karaṇa (Instrument/means—‘with joy’/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mudā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental); एकवचन; भाववाचक

• kamalāyāḥ: of Kamalā (Lakṣmī)
• kamalāyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kamalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• purobhāge: in the front/at the forefront
• purobhāge: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puras + bhāga (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative); एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (puras ‘in front’ + bhāga ‘part/place’)

• pātivratya: wifely fidelity (pativratā-hood)
• pātivratya: Hetu/Viśeṣaṇa-bhāva (Cause/qualifying state)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pati + vratya/vrata (प्रातिपदिक; समास/तद्धित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन; भाववाचक (state of wifely fidelity)

• sutoṣitaḥ: well-pleased, greatly satisfied
• sutoṣitaḥ: Karta (as predicate adjective of subject/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + tuṣ (धातु) → sutoṣita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/ppp); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन; विशेषण (of nārāyaṇaḥ/devaḥ)

Speaker

Narratorial voice within Skanda’s discourse (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kamalā (Lakṣmī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Nārāyaṇa, seated in a divine assembly, joyfully extols Arundhatī’s pātivratya before Kamalā (Lakṣmī), who listens from the foremost seat; the mood is reverent and celebratory.

Characters & Entities

• Nārāyaṇa
• Kamalā (Lakṣmī)
• Arundhatī (implied by context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True dharma (pātivratya) is so powerful that even Nārāyaṇa delights in praising it publicly.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named here; the focus is on Arundhatī’s virtue within the Kāśī narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a commendation (praśaṃsā) of pātivratya.