Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

उपवीतक्रमेण स्यात्कार्पासं शाणमाविकम् । त्रिवृदूर्ध्ववृतं तच्च भवेदायुर्विवृद्धये

Transliteration

upavītakrameṇa syātkārpāsaṃ śāṇamāvikam | trivṛdūrdhvavṛtaṃ tacca bhavedāyurvivṛddhaye

Translation

In der rechten Ordnung soll das Upavīta (heilige Schnur) zuerst aus Baumwolle, dann aus Flachs und dann aus Wolle sein. Es soll dreifach und nach oben gedreht sein; dies, so heißt es, mehrt die Lebensdauer.

Word by Word

• upavīta-krameṇa: according to the upavīta procedure
• upavīta-krameṇa: Adhikarana (Manner/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upavīta (प्रातिपदिक) + krama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘according to the upavīta order/mode’ (instrumental of manner)

• syāt: should be
• syāt: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस्)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• kārpāsam: cotton (made)
• kārpāsam: Karta/Karma (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kārpāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण: ‘cotton (made)’

• śāṇam: hemp/śāṇa (made)
• śāṇam: Karta/Karma (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण: ‘hemp/śāṇa (made)’

• āvikam: woollen
• āvikam: Karta/Karma (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: āvika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण: ‘woollen’

• trivṛt-ūrdhva-vṛtam: three-stranded and turned upward
• trivṛt-ūrdhva-vṛtam: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: trivṛt (प्रातिपदिक) + ūrdhva (प्रातिपदिक) + vṛta (कृदन्त; √vṛ (वृ) क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (बहुपद): ‘three-stranded, upward-turned/arranged’

• tat: that (thread)
• tat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction)

• bhavet: should become; should be
• bhavet: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• āyuḥ-vivṛddhaye: for the increase of lifespan
• āyuḥ-vivṛddhaye: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āyus (प्रातिपदिक) + vivṛddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘for the increase of lifespan’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (frame; not explicit)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dvija receives or adjusts a threefold, upward-twisted upavīta; cotton, flax, and wool threads are shown in sequence; a subtle aura suggests ‘āyus-vivṛddhi’.

Characters & Entities

• Upavīta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred symbols are not mere ornament; properly observed saṃskāra forms support disciplined, life-sustaining dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction is part of Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s dharma-teaching milieu connected with Kāśī, without naming a specific tirtha in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It prescribes the materials and threefold, upward-twisted form of the upavīta.