Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 82

Devanagari script

गृहाश्रमात्परं नास्ति यदि पत्नीवशंवदा । आनुकूल्यं हि दंपत्योस्त्रिवर्गोदय हेतवे

Transliteration

gṛhāśramātparaṃ nāsti yadi patnīvaśaṃvadā | ānukūlyaṃ hi daṃpatyostrivargodaya hetave

Translation

There is nothing higher than the gṛhastha-āśrama, so long as one is not under the domination of one’s wife. For harmony between husband and wife is indeed the cause for the flourishing of the three aims—dharma, artha, and kāma.

Word by Word

• gṛha-āśramāt: than the householder stage
• gṛha-āśramāt: Apādāna (Ablative comparison/source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक) + āśrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (from the householder-āśrama)

• param: higher, superior
• param: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र विधेयविशेषण (higher)

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

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

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Condition marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तबोधक अव्यय (conditional ‘if’)

• patnī-vaśam-vadā: (one who is) under the wife’s control
• patnī-vaśam-vadā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: patnī (प्रातिपदिक) + vaśa (प्रातिपदिक) + vadā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (patnī-vaśaṃ vadati/ācarati iti: one who is under wife’s control)

• ānukūlyam: harmony, mutual favor
• ānukūlyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ānukūlya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र प्रथमा (subject)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (indeed)

• daṃpatyoḥ: of the couple (husband and wife)
• daṃpatyoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daṃpatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विवचनान्त-प्रातिपदिक; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), द्विवचन

• tri-varga-udaya: rise of the three aims of life
• tri-varga-udaya: Sambandha (Related goal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + varga (प्रातिपदिक) + udaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्विगु-तत्पुरुषः (rise of the three aims: dharma-artha-kāma)

• hetave: for the purpose/cause
• hetave: Sampradāna/Prayojana (Purpose/Dative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hetu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

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 balanced household: husband and wife jointly offering to the household fire and feeding guests; the three aims (dharma, artha, kāma) symbolized as three lamps burning steadily due to harmony.

Characters & Entities

• Gṛhastha
• Dampatī
• Trivarga (Dharma-Artha-Kāma)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Household life supports dharma and prosperity when the couple lives in harmony and self-mastery is maintained.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tirtha is named; the instruction appears within the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s broader liberation geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; it is an ethical-social guideline about marital harmony enabling the trivarga.