Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

सदाचारो गृहे यद्वन्न तथास्त्याश्रमांतरे । विद्याजातं पठित्वांते गृहस्थाश्रममाश्रयेत्

Transliteration

sadācāro gṛhe yadvanna tathāstyāśramāṃtare | vidyājātaṃ paṭhitvāṃte gṛhasthāśramamāśrayet

Translation

Rechte Lebensführung (Sadācāra) findet sich im Haus in einer Weise, wie sie in den anderen Āśramas nicht ebenso zu finden ist. Darum soll man nach vollendetem Studium schließlich den Gṛhastha-Āśrama, die Hausstandsstufe, ergreifen.

Word by Word

• sadācāraḥ: good conduct
• sadācāraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sad-ācāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (good conduct)

• gṛhe: in the house
• gṛhe: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• yadvat: just as
• yadvat: Upamāna (Comparative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadvat (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक अव्यय (as/just as)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation)

• tathā: so, likewise
• tathā: Upamāna (Correlative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: तद्वत्/एवम्-अर्थक अव्यय (so, likewise)

• asti: is
• asti: Kriyā (Predicate verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• āśrama-antare: in another stage of life (āśrama)
• āśrama-antare: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āśrama (प्रातिपदिक) + antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषः (in another āśrama)

• vidyā-jātam: the acquired learning
• vidyā-jātam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidyā (प्रातिपदिक) + jāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (that which has arisen as learning / the body of learning)

• paṭhitvā: having studied
• paṭhitvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: paṭh (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive): ‘having studied/read’

• ante: at the end
• ante: Kāla (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययवत् (at the end)

• gṛhastha-āśramam: the householder stage
• gṛhastha-āśramam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛhastha (प्रातिपदिक) + āśrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (the householder-āśrama)

• āśrayet: should resort to
• āśrayet: Kriyā (Predicate verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-śri (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśī Khaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A learned graduate returns home, establishing a sacred domestic space: household fire, guests welcomed, daily pūjā—sadācāra depicted as orderly, luminous domestic ritual life.

Characters & Entities

• Sadācāra
• Āśrama
• Gṛhastha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The householder stage is upheld as a primary arena for lived dharma and right conduct after completing study.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tirtha is named in this verse; it occurs within the Kāśī teaching context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A life-stage prescription: after study, embrace gṛhastha-āśrama and practice sadācāra.