Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

कन्यारूपधराकाचिद्याभुक्ता केनचित्क्वचित् । देवरूपेण तं कालमारभ्य ब्रह्मचारिणी

Transliteration

kanyārūpadharākācidyābhuktā kenacitkvacit | devarūpeṇa taṃ kālamārabhya brahmacāriṇī

Translation

Eine gewisse Frau, die die Gestalt eines Mädchens annahm, wurde einst irgendwo von jemandem genossen; von jener Zeit an—da es in göttlicher Gestalt geschah—lebte sie als Brahmacāriṇī in Enthaltsamkeit.

Word by Word

• कन्यारूपधरा: bearing the form of a maiden
• कन्यारूपधरा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कन्यारूप (प्रातिपदिक) + धर (कृदन्त; √धृ धारणे)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक 'धर' — Feminine, Nominative singular

• काचित्: some (woman)
• काचित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — Feminine, Nominative singular (indefinite pronoun)

• या: who
• या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — Feminine, Nominative singular (relative pronoun)

• भुक्ता: was enjoyed/consumed (i.e., sexually used)
• भुक्ता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भुज् (भुज पालन/भोगे)
• Form: कृदन्त: क्त (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — PPP, Feminine, Nominative singular

• केनचित्: by someone
• केनचित्: Karana (Instrument/Agent in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; अनिश्चित-प्रयोग — Instrumental singular: 'by someone'

• क्वचित्: somewhere/sometime
• क्वचित्: Adhikarana (Circumstance/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: at some time/place)

• देवरूपेण: in the form of a god
• देवरूपेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवरूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन — Neuter, Instrumental singular; समास: देव + रूप

• तम्: that
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — Masculine, Accusative singular

• कालम्: time/period
• कालम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — Masculine, Accusative singular

• आरभ्य: starting from
• आरभ्य: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √रभ् (रभ् आरम्भे)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund) — having begun/starting from

• ब्रह्मचारिणी: a celibate woman; one observing brahmacarya
• ब्रह्मचारिणी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मचारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — Feminine, Nominative singular

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvija interlocutor addressed in nearby verses (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A maiden-form apsaras sits apart in contemplative austerity, ornaments subdued, gaze lowered; the background hints at Kāśī’s sacred riverfront, suggesting a shift from pleasure to restraint.

Characters & Entities

• Deva (devarūpa)
• Kanyā-rūpa (maiden-form)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Past experiences can become a turning point toward dharmic restraint; brahmacarya is shown as a deliberate vow taken after a decisive event.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is within Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī-māhātmya setting, but no distinct tīrtha is named in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The practice implied is brahmacarya (continence), treated as a sustained vow rather than a one-time ritual.