Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

अथवा विदितं नो ते वल्लवीनां विचेष्टितम् । विनाष्टौनायिकाः कृष्ण कामयंतेऽबलाह्यमुम्

Transliteration

athavā viditaṃ no te vallavīnāṃ viceṣṭitam | vināṣṭaunāyikāḥ kṛṣṇa kāmayaṃte'balāhyamum

Translation

Oder vielleicht kennst du die Art der Gopīs, der Hirtenfrauen, nicht: Ist der Geliebte fern, begehren die vor Liebe verzehrten Heldinnen, o Kṛṣṇa, sogar das, was nicht begehrt werden sollte.

Word by Word

• athavā: or else
• athavā: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: athavā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (or/alternatively)

• viditam: known
• viditam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √vid (विद् धातु) + ta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भावे/कर्मणि (known)

• naḥ: to us / our
• naḥ: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन (genitive plural: 'of us/our')

• te: your
• te: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन (genitive singular: 'your')

• vallavīnām: of the cowherd women
• vallavīnām: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vallavī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन (genitive plural)

• viceṣṭitam: conduct, behavior
• viceṣṭitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vi+√ceṣṭ (चेष्ट् धातु) + ita (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'चेष्टित' = conduct/behavior

• vinā: without
• vinā: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; वियोग/वर्जनार्थ (without)

• aṣṭau: eight
• aṣṭau: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (numeral: eight)

• nāyikāḥ: heroines, leading women
• nāyikāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāyikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (nominative plural)

• kṛṣṇa: O Krishna
• kṛṣṇa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (vocative singular)

• kāmayante: desire, long for
• kāmayante: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kam (कम् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद (present, 3rd pl, middle)

• abalāhya: not to be carried off by force / irresistible
• abalāhya: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-balāhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नञ्-समासपूर्वक विशेषण; पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'amum' इति विशेषण (accusative singular)

• amum: that one (him)
• amum: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (accusative singular: 'that one/him')

Speaker

Nārada (admonishing/explaining within the narrative)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kṛṣṇa

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Nārada addresses Kṛṣṇa with a knowing, teasing comparison: a vignette of viraha-stricken gopīs in the mind’s eye, contrasted with the present counsel about Kāśī.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa
• Vallavī (Gopī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unchecked longing can cloud discernment; dharma requires mastery over desire and respect for propriety.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is praised in this verse; it serves as narrative context within the Kāśī Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is a moral-psychological observation within the story.