Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

असौ न ब्रह्मचारी स्यात्कृतपाणिग्रह स्थितिः । वानप्रस्थ्यं कुतश्चास्मिन्नैश्वर्यमदमोहिते

Transliteration

asau na brahmacārī syātkṛtapāṇigraha sthitiḥ | vānaprasthyaṃ kutaścāsminnaiśvaryamadamohite

Translation

Er kann kein Brahmacārin sein, denn er steht im Zustand dessen, der bereits die Hand einer Gattin in der Ehe ergriffen hat. Und wie sollte in ihm ein Vānaprastha sein—da er vom Rausch der Macht verblendet ist?

Word by Word

• असौ: that (one)
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asau (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Nishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक निपात

• ब्रह्मचारी: celibate student
• ब्रह्मचारी: Pratishedhya (Negated predicate/निषेध्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmacārin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• स्यात्: would be
• स्यात्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• कृतपाणिग्रहस्थितिः: one whose state is (already) married (hand-taking done)
• कृतपाणिग्रहस्थितिः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛta (कृ धातु, क्त) + pāṇi + graha (ग्रह् धातु, भाव) + sthiti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः (कृतं पाणिग्रहणं यस्याः सा स्थितिः / पाणिग्रहणस्य कृतत्वेन स्थितिः)

• वानप्रस्थ्यम्: forest-dweller stage
• वानप्रस्थ्यम्: Prashna (Predicate nominal/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vānaprasthya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• कुतः: how/whence
• कुतः: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kutas (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक/हेतुवाचक अव्यय (whence/how?)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

• अस्मिन्: in this (one)
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ऐश्वर्यमदमोहिते: in one deluded by power and pride
• ऐश्वर्यमदमोहिते: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aiśvarya + mada + mohita (मुह् धातु, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; संबोधनाभावेन विशेषणरूपेण; समासः (ऐश्वर्येण मदेन च मोहितः)

Speaker

Dakṣa (as reported in Skanda’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A disputant points out the contradiction: ‘not brahmacārin’ due to marriage, ‘not vānaprastha’ due to lordly intoxication; behind, a symbolic tableau shows Śiva’s wedding iconography on one side and ascetic cremation-ground symbols on the other.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (implied)
• Dakṣa
• Satī (implied by marriage context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Rigidly measuring the divine by external social categories is a form of delusion; pride distorts judgment and leads to adharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the verse remains within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative arc.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.